


Warriors - Mountain of Stars

by MagicSpoon101



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Child Death, Death, Gen, Infant Death, Major Character Injury, Major Original Character(s), Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Clans (Warriors), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prophecy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-07-05 00:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15852780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicSpoon101/pseuds/MagicSpoon101
Summary: Mountainkit lives a normal, if not lackluster, life as a kit of StoneClan, but danger is on the horizon as their neighbor BrambleClan starts to stir trouble, death no doubt following, some more tragic than others. Mountainkit slowly uncovers a dark secret her clan leader has been hiding and suspicions start to grow between her and the medicine cat. Leaf-bare is on it's way and now on the cusp of being apprenticed, Mountainkit must decide where to put her paws next.Chapter updates will arrive once finished! ❤





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I have a quick foreword about these original clans and their territories, after that is the (short, i think) prologue, feedback is always appreciated due to this being my first fic and first warriors fic, thanks!
> 
> This story here has no bond or tie to the original works of Warrior Cats, there is no WindClan or RiverClan but some things like StarClan and other name for things like Silverpelt will be used. Warrior cat names might be shared in my story and in the original sometimes, if that happens those characters have nothing to do with the originally name characters before them. There are some limitations like the prefixes Kit, Paw, Moon, and Star. The herbs and prey and names for things like Twolegs and Monsters are to remain, and the names of the cats are not too limited in things (I mean there was Doestar at a time and I don't think cats know what a deer is) but theres a new place and new Clans.  
> CreekClan is basically RiverClan but with more water and live near the foot of the mountain, StoneClan would be most like ShadowClan since they are surrounded with pines on the mountainside, BrambleClan is like ThunderClan as they live in the deciduous forest, and MeadowClan is like WindClan and lives on an open and wide field. They’re not like carbon copies of the originals but to make things easier that’s the simplest way i can connect the two. These Clans have more enemies to look out for than back in the first series, they live comfortably near the edge of a wildlife park and so migrating large animals like deer pass by, and with these deer larger predator animals are seen. Bears and wolves are rare, yet larger threats to each Clan, though they are rarely seen in MeadowClan territory and in more desperate seasons. Humans still come around the territories and camp and hike, though less in the winter season, bringing their dogs and trash and the occasional wildfire.  
> The four Clans have a combined territory that would look very circular, with StoneClan bordering CreekClan and BrambleClan. Each Clan has a lot of territory and it's a little hard for a singular dedicated border patrol to patrol one Clans entire border in a day. They have their own place of gathering, which is also their “moonstone” place at the center of the territories but that will be expanded upon later. The Clan cats live far from human civilization and the only real time they see them is when they come to camp and hunt, and far off there is a freeway known as the Great Thunderpath. Loners and rogues still appear but not very often.  
> Although cats with prefixes of a Clan name (Stoneclaw for example) are incredibly rare, it is somewhat less rare for a cat to have a Clan name as their suffix (Runningcreek for example), it is mostly used on the leader or deputy’s kits and is an insult/challenge for one Clan to have another Clans name (like the leader of BrambleClan would feel insulted that Fernbramble of StoneClan were given their Clans name.  
> The Warrior Code is still as it was although the kittypet rule is mostly to discourage cats from becoming loners due to the lack of a twolegplace. StarClan and the Dark Forest do exist but they arent able to touch anything in the real physical world, the Dark Forest cats don't plot to destroy the Clans but they do train and have strong resentment towards StarClan, they're both vague and don't do lots of handholding even if they want to. Thats pretty much it for that kinda stuff though.

StoneClan:

Leader: Patchstar - tall tom with a dark pointed coat and yellow eyes  
Deputy: Raintrail - silver tom with dark grey patches and white belly App: Redpaw - tall ginger tom  
Medicine Cat: Leafwhisker - small tortie she-cat with yellow eyes  
Warriors: Pinestep - brown tabby tom  
Oakclaw - dark ginger she-cat with white paws and tail App: Pondpaw - silver and white she-cat  
Cloudsky - white tom App: Bellowingpaw - small brown tabby tom  
Echowind - dark grey she-cat with white patches App: Gorsepaw - calico she-cat  
Littlebelly - calico she-cat with white belly  
Frogjump - dark tabby she-cat with green eyes  
Fallingbird - black tom with yellow eyes  
Sunpelt - light ginger she-cat with dark ginger stripes App: Jaypaw - silver tom  
Bugstripe - dark brown tabby tom with white patches  
Marrowfoot - striped dark grey tabby she-cat  
Adderjump - long-legged ginger tom with white tail-tip and Amber eyes  
Beetlebuzz - long-haired black tom  
Queens: Goldensky - bright ginger she-cat with light underbelly (mother of Mountainkit, a brown she-kit with dark brown stripes with a white belly, Sparrowkit, a brown tabby tom with a long tail, Lionkit, a light brown she-kit with a white belly and throat, Emberkit, a ginger she-kit with a white belly, Juniperkit, blue tom with dark stripes)  
Elders: Longbreeze - old dark pointed tom with grey muzzle  
Ivytangle - tawny she-cat

CreekClan:

Leader: Howlingstar - large dark silver tabby tom with his muzzle and right eye scared  
Deputy: Bloodtail - tortie she-cat with a dark ginger tail  
Medicine Cat: Silverwind - long haired silver tom App: Pikepaw - dark tabby tom with white ears  
Warriors: Firequench - dark ginger she-cat  
Tigerfur - dark brown tabby she-cat  
Talonswipe - light brown tom with white patches  
Ripplewhisker - long haired gray tom with white paw App: Bluepaw - silver tom  
Breezeheart - sleek cream she-cat  
Leafstorm - dappled brown and black tom  
Blackstripe - white tom with a singular black stripe App: Leopardpaw - dappled golden tabby tom  
Minnowripple - very pale tom  
Icebreak - white tom with a black patch over eye  
Applesnout - reddish tabby she-cat  
Queens: Volefur - light brown she-cat (mother to Mistykit, a cream she-cat, and Skykit, pale gray with dark gray flecked tom)  
Elders: Watersplash - dusty brown tom with white face

BrambleClan:

Leader: Smallstar - small ginger tom with flatface  
Deputy: Longshadow - black tom with long tail  
Medicine Cat: Dustfur - small light brown tabby tom  
Warriors: Dapplecloud - brown dappled she-cat  
Thorntail - gray tom with dark grey-striped tail App: Cloudpaw - white tom  
Dawnwhisker - light brown tabby she-cat  
Cinderblaze - dark cream tom App: Boulderpaw - light ginger tabby tom  
Brackenshade - black and brown she-cat  
Ashstripe - grey and spotted tom with white belly App: Hollypaw - black tom with faint stripes  
Redeye - tabby calico tom with red patch on left eye App: Yawnpaw - white tom with ginger paw  
Poppyflower - silver and white tabby she-cat  
Honeyscent - golden tabby she-cat with white paws App: Berrypaw - ginger she-cat  
Smokewhisker - dark grey tom with white patches  
Queens: Sweetberry - light gray and white she-cat  
Elders: Halftail - dark brown tabby tom with half a tail  
Barkfoot - brown tabby she-cat with white paws

MeadowClan:

Leader: Maplestar - young tortie she-cat  
Deputy: Yellowclaws - mottled brown she-cat  
Medicine Cat: Mudfoot - black and white tom  
Webwhisker - brown tom with white patches on face  
Warriors: Foxsneeze - redish she-cat with black tail  
Runningcloud - long grey and white tabby she-cat App: Duskpaw - black she-cat  
Morningstep - dark brown she-cat with white paws and belly  
Shadeleg - long limbed black she-cat  
Nightowl - dark grey tabby tom App: Jaggedpaw - grey and white tom  
Crowflight - black tom  
Rosescent - light cream she-cat App: Mintpaw - light brown tabby tom  
Shallowwater - small calico tom  
Emberstrike - ginger tabby tom  
Weaselsnap - small brown she-cat with white belly and tail-tip  
Toadleap - tortie she-cat with one white paw  
Queens: Mossfang - pale gray she-cat (mother of Frogkit, tiny dark tabby she-cat)  
Elders: Pouncewhisker - old grey she-cat  
Featherfoot - long-haired brown tom with greying pelt

 

Prologue

 

Loud mewls came from the nursery as a brown tabby tom waited to be let in, his tail swishing back and forth. A tall slender cat drew up to the brown tabby from the dark night, “Patience, Pinestep. Leafwhisker will let you in soon,” He purred happily.

Pinestep looked up at his leader, slightly taken aback, “Oh well… They're my kits, Patchstar, I want to see them. I _deserve_ to see them!” He flicked his tail impatiently.

A cool breeze from below the mountain rose and disturbed the tall pines, a sign the cusp of Leaf-fall approaching, and did little to ease the warrior’s tension. The moon was high above the stars of silverpelt, thin as a claw, yet still able to illuminate the StoneClan camp.

Before long, a tortie head poked out of the nursery, purring. “Pinestep, come in! Goldensky has given birth to beautiful kits!” Excitedly, the brown tabby hurried in, giving a quick nod to the medicine cat as she left the den. She locked eyes with Patchstar and they both gave one another silent greetings as the tall leader padded inside, Leafwhisker’s golden gaze still upon him as he ducked his head.

The nursery was only a part of the many caves that served for dens on the mountainside, and inside it felt warm; the sweet scent of milk filled the den. Goldensky and Pinestep were both purring together loudly as they looked at the bundles that suckled at the bright orange she-cats belly.

“I am thankful StoneClan has new warriors to defend its borders, may they grow up to be the finest of hunters.” The tall leader said, dipping his head.

“Thank you, Patchstar, it'll be great to start filling up all those empty nests now.” Goldensky looked at her mate. “They're beautiful, Pinestep, let's name them together...” Patchstar slipped out of the nursery, moonlight made his shadows long on the stony floor his Clan was built upon. He looked toward the exit, padding past the warrior’s den, carefully listening to his clanmates snore, pawsteps quiet. From the cliff edge of the camp he could see movement of the monsters as their faint glowing eyes travelled across the Great Thunderpath far at the edge of MeadowClan’s territory.

As the slender cat squeezed through the bramble walls, the pine trees loomed over the leader as he moved swiftly in the shadows. Patchstar veered closer to the foot of the mountain, jumping over a small and quiet stream with ease, and veered near the edge of a small hill baren of pines and brush. There he saw a figure waiting for him, much smaller than himself.

“Greetings again,” said a pair of green eyes, their pelt blanketed by the night, “Have you thought about what we discussed?”

Patchstar blinked, “Of course I have, I've been busy is all, new kits and such.” He looked at his paws before the wind shifted towards them, Patchstar’s fur prickled as his eyes slowly darted around them, eyeing the ferns and brush around them, “You weren't followed, were you?”

The cat’s eyes narrowed toward Patchstar, “Still your heart, Patchstar, you speak nonsense. Do you have doubts about me?”

Patchstar shook his head. “No, of course not!” He said, hushed, “You are as honorable as I, we can continue the business we had before.” Patchstar returned his gaze to the cat and the two talked until a mewl broke through the night. Patchstar jumped to his paws toward the noise while the green eyes faded behind him. When he reached the running stream, he found a soaking wet bundle of fur, mewling faintly and eyes closed with a foul scent in the air.


	2. Chapter One

Mountainkit curled tighter between her mother and siblings, the nest she slept in did little to protect her from the cold wind tugging at her fur. Leaves rustled on the stone floor, pushed by the breeze. Mountainkit was unable to sleep and instead crept out of the nest and nursery to see the leaves outside, carefully watching her steps to not wake her mother or Frogjump, the smell of her fresh nest mixing with the scent of milk. The moon was covered in clouds as the wind brushed the crinkly leaves around the center of camp, slowly entrancing Mountainkit as a new scent came to her notice.

An ear splitting screech broke through the night.

“BrambleClan, attack!”

Black figures rushed from the camp entrance to the nearby caves and soon they were met by StoneClan’s own warriors. The once peaceful night was filled with yowls and cries from Mountainkit’s own clanmates and those of BrambleClan, the clouds parted from the moon, revealing the blood splattering on stones and the many pelts colliding amongst themselves. Fear struck Mountainkit’s small body, her ears flat, eyes wide, and her paws unable to move from their place as screams and the scent of blood reached her.

“Mountainkit!” Shrieked Goldensky. Mountainkit was too afraid to move as her mother’s cry alerted a BrambleClan warrior of their location, she could see their eyes shine faintly as the warrior grew closer and closer. Mountainkit felt teeth on her scruff as she was dragged back, but not before a red cat collided with the enemy warrior, both cats falling to the ground. The two brawled as Frogjump yanked Mountainkit to the very back of the cave, her siblings pressed as close to the wall as possible. The two yowled and hissed, the fighting mainly blocked by Goldensky’s body, but Mountainkit was able to to catch a few glimpses of their the battle; the two snarled and swiped at one another, teeth and claws gleaming in the night. Blood fell onto the stones as Mountainkit shut her eyes tight and Frogjump nudged her close to her siblings, each of them quiet and afraid. The fighting seemed endless and the scent of fear engulfed the nursery.

The sounds of battle faded and a loud cry rallied Mountainkit’s Clan, “StoneClan is victorious! All cats old enough to lick their wounds hear my words from the Elderlog!”

Mountainkit flicked her ears and opened her eyes to see the red cat at the nursery entrance, blood dripping from his shoulder and muzzle.

“Thank you, Redpaw, I don’t know what would’ve happened without you.” Goldensky mewed, worry in her voice.

Redpaw dipped his head, “That BrambleClan warrior had no business targeting the nursery, any other cat would’ve done the same. Now if you will excuse me, Patchstar has called the Clan.” Redpaw padded off, Mountainkit’s wide gaze following him as she left her mother’s side. Outside the nursery, Mountainkit was alone until her father veered to Goldensky, the two chittering as Mountainkit stepped closer to hear Patchstar’s words, stumbling slightly. Cats gathered below him, some licking their wounds as Leafwhisker tended to others, each clanmate seemingly unfazed by their cuts and scratches.

Her leader was standing tall on the Elderlog, blood dripping from his lip and scratched ear. There was a proud glint in his eyes, “The cowardly BrambleClan has attacked us in our own camp and were sent back on their long trek home with their tails between their legs!” The cats yowled in victory under him as he continued, “However, we are not without our losses… Longbreeze, my father, fought bravely tonight protecting two of our apprentices with his life.” The Clan was quiet as Mountainkit caught sight of a lying cat near the center of camp, he had only recently joined the elder’s den. _And now Longbreeze joins StarClan._ Mountainkit thought, looking above at the long string of stars in Silverpelt.

“Even so, Longbreeze would be proud of one of our apprentices tonight.” Patchstar looked down at the crowd, “Redpaw bravely defended the nursery as a BrambleClan warrior race toward the kits and queens.”

A voice cried out in the crowd, “Not just any warrior, it was Longshadow he fought!”

The cats talked and gasped amongst themselves, Mountainkit unsure who Longshadow was.

Patchstar raised his long tail for silence. “Redpaw’s victory against the BrambleClan deputy-” Mountainkit’s eyes widened, “-has more than proved Redpaw’s skill and honor. Tonight, with Longbreeze’s blessing, Redpaw is ready to become a warrior.”

The crowd cheered and Pinestep sat beside Mountainkit, giving her a quick jump of surprise. “Oh, sorry, Mountainkit.” He muttered. She let her fur lie flat, giving it a few licks before giving her attention to her leader.

“Raintrail, my faithful deputy, do you approve of your apprentice becoming a warrior?”

“Yes, Patchstar, he is more than ready.” Replied the warrior, Leafwhisker placing cobwebs on his cuts.

Patchstar dipped his head, “Then I, Patchstar, leader of StoneClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn.” There was a proud glint in his eyes when Redpaw stepped up beside him that was unfamiliar to Mountainkit.  
"Redpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”  
"I do.” Redpaws voice was sturdy and strong, without hesitation.”  
“Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. It is an honor for you to receive this name, in return for your honorable work and training. Redpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Redstone.”

Mountainkit mewed out Redstone’s new name, only to interrupt the ceremony. Her pelt felt hot with embarrassment as the silence of her Clan deafened her.

Quickly, Patchstar continued, “StarClan honors your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of StoneClan.” The Clan cheered his name, except this time Mountainkit said nothing. She felt no energy in her heart after embarrassing herself in front of her entire Clan, and buried her face in her father's fur.

The ceremony was over and most of her Clan dispersed toward the medicine cat den, some limping, Mountainkit could feel her pelt burn from no doubt the glares of her clanmates and she flattened her ears at the thought of what they might be whispering.

“Lets get you back to your nest then, Mountainkit.” Pinestep meowed as he took a few steps away from her, causing Mountainkit to fall over. She gave a surprised mew as she kept herself from falling on her face, slowly looking up to see her father only a tail-length away from the nursery, tail tip flicking. Following up behind him, Mountainkit saw her parents whisper amongst each other, though unable to hear what either said. Lionkit and Juniperkit were lying in their nest and Frogjump was grooming Emberkit and Sparrowkit, helping their fur lie flat. “Frogjump!” Hissed Goldensky, coming in hastily and grabbing both kits with her paw, “Can't you wait until you've had your kits? I can handle mine on my own!” She huffed while Frogjump flattened her ears.

“It's been a wild night, Goldensky,” she started, “I was only trying to help calm them down before they slept-”

“Yeah, well I can handle it!” Spat back Mountainkit's mother, now drawing back her lip before pushing her kits to her belly. The nursery was quiet as Frogjump backed down, slipping into her own nest as Mountainkit stepped into a spot beside her mother and into a dreamless sleep.

 

\----------------------

 

The end of Leaf-fall was on the horizon, Mountainkit assumed, by now there was an abundance of dried leaves and pine needles over the stone clearing and between rocks and the wind became colder each day that passed. The red leaves reminded her of BrambleClan’s invasion and the blood of both Clans spilling, she wondered if it was related to the coloration of the leaves, lingering on them. Loud rustling took Mountainkit out of her thoughts as she turned to see two brown pelts brawling in the leaves. Her brother and sister, Sparrowkit and Emberkit respectively, were play fighting and dealing blows to one another. “Emberfire you traitor! I should have killed you when I had the chance!” Hissed Sparrowkit, bringing down his brown paw on Emberkit’s head, only to have her swipe it away. Emberkit jumped at her brother and pinned him to the ground. “Ha!” Gloated Emberkit, lifting her head in triumph, “Foolish Sparrowstar, you are weak! You've made our Clan weak! Now it's up to me alone to bring our Clan to glory!”

The two siblings wrestled and slid on the smooth stone floor, heading straight for Mountainkit. She shrieked as she was knocked over before she could escape, the weight of the two bearing down on top of her as she struggled to flee, pine needles pricking her sides.

“Mother!” She cried tearfully.

Sparrowkit and Emberkit stopped their play and backed off from Mountainkit, “Mother!” She cried again, lying still on the floor, ears flat.

Soon with a quick pattering of paws on stone, Goldensky was at the scene, “Emberkit! Sparrowkit! Don't you two know any better?!” She gave them both stern looks as her shadow fell on Mountainkit. “You two have been causing nothing but trouble with your fighting, enough is enough; you're both to stop this play-fighting until the next moon!” Her kits met back with protest, except for Mountainkit who continued to lie on the floor, slightly sniffling.

“No arguing! It's enough I have to deal with your brother, I don't need you two causing more trouble!” Goldensky padded away and soon both Mountainkit’s siblings reared back at her, pelts brushed up in fury.

“Thanks a lot, Mountainkit! We were trying to practice so we can be apprentices faster and protect our Clan!” Hissed Emberkit. “Now it'll be forever until we can play again! Next time be more useful instead of staring at leaves or whatever!” Sparrowkit snarled, baring his small teeth. Mountainkit said nothing and endured their harsh words, holding back more tears, until they eventually left towards the elder's den.

“It's not my fault you're so mouse-brained, it’s not… my fault.” She hissed quietly, dragging a paw over the stone floor, leaving marks. She carried herself far from the elder’s den, near the stone cliff edge of the camp, her hind paws dragging behind her lifelessly.

From what Mountainkit has seen, her camp lied on the edge of the mountain face, the cliff surrounded by bramble walls her clanmates set in place with two paths on each side that lead down separate slopes to the pine forest that was their territory. The stone wall of the mountain slightly protrude outwards like two stone towers with many caves serving as dens, the nursery being the lowest near the center. The largest cave by the left entrance serves as the warrior’s den, although other warriors sleep in other caves whenever they feel too crowded, while the apprentice’s den was furthest to the right. Between the two parts is where the Elderlog resides; an old and sturdy hollowed pine tree trunk that serves as the leader’s den and where the leader stands when meetings are held. Small pine trees and brush made their place between rocks on the very edge of camp, helping to provide a better wall and shelter.

Mountainkit lied in a pile of leaves near the bramble wall, head on her paws, listening to the wind blow and to at least bring some comfort to her. The leaves crinkled under her body as she turned toward the cliff, her green eyes gazing to the forest she’ll one day hunt and run through. She imagined herself with fresh mud on her paws as she chased a mouse under the pines, the sun’s rays reaching the hard ground through patches where the pines were bare. Moss would clutch onto the trunks of trees and on rocks as she continued her pursuit, she took great strides through the land she was born in, a land she would know like the back of her paws. The mouse was within reach when two glowing yellow eyes took Mountainkit away from her hunt. She blinked as the figure slipped between the pines and the brush, the mouse now forgotten. She was quickly taken away from her dream as she blinked her eyes to reveal Frogjump, fur slightly rustled and messy.

“Mountainkit, shouldn’t you be with your mother?” The cat asked, giving her messy fur a few quick licks to settle it down before looking back at the kit. “You’re too young to be this far from the nursery without someone watching you.”

Mountainkit yawned, stretching her paws over the leaves before sitting up and facing the queen. “Shouldn't you be in the nursery? My mother says all queens stay in the nursery.” Dodging her question and leaving without an answer, Mountainkit padded away, twitching her knobby tail. She saw a few of her clanmates relaxing on the stones with what little time they had to rest before another border patrol, hopefully the tension between BrambleClan and StoneClan would die down by the time she's apprenticed. The sky was a dark blood red color, as if the sun itself was bleeding, and the night was creeping sooner than Mountainkit was used to. Before heading into the nursery, she saw Redstone talking to Emberkit and Sparrowkit, and although unable to hear what they were saying, the two looked very excited with their ears perked and tails raised in a good manner. Goldensky, followed by Lionkit, padded beside them and called the two away before giving a curt nod to Redstone. Before Mountainkit could think, she was nudged in by Frogjump, her belly swaying as she rested in her nest. Mountainkit went to her own shared nest where Juniperkit was already sleeping, or more precisely, had been sleeping. It was unusual for her smaller brother to be awake, spending most- if not all- of his time in the nursery, reasons unknown to Mountainkit.

Soon, her mother and the rest of her littermates came through, her siblings clambering on one another to find their spot as Goldensky lied down, purring slightly. Her siblings, save Juniperkit, mewed and fussed as they struggled to each get their own footing, their mother keeping a watchful eye so that no one disturbs their sleeping sibling. Soon, the kits found themselves a comfortable spot to relax and drink their fill, and quickly fell asleep with their bellies full. Mountainkit looked at the entrance, warriors passing by as the sun’s light no longer touched the stones. Her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

A familiar scent entered Mountainkit's nose as she woke up to her dream. Darkness enveloped her, though Mountainkit was not fearful, she could barely see her paws in front of her as she took a few steps before hearing something very quiet and very distant. She perked her ears to help focus and soon the noise began to grow; it sounded like a soft purr like her mother’s and it grew louder without Mountainkit having to approach it. “Mountainkit” whispered somewhere behind her, Mountainkit swung her head around to see nothing but darkness, “Who’s there?” she said, slightly unnerved. She broke into a run, unsure of which direction she would be going in. Surprisingly, the darkness above her began to fade into slightly dimming stars like those on Silverpelt, however, the stars seemed to be different from the ones she's seen while she was awake. “Who- who's calling me?” She cried out again. The scent swelled up around Mountainkit like the leaves being lifted by the breeze and there was a slight sense of warmth that gave her a small ounce of comfort. “Mountainkit,” it whispered gently. Mountainkit closed her eyes and gave in to the scent, but soon the purring became much louder like heavy rain pelting the stones of the camp and the familiar scent was no longer there. Mountainkit was then knocked over from a force she couldn't see. “Mountainkit”, the void repeated, though slightly different than before. Mountainkit looked back and forth, with the sound being almost deafening and still Mountainkit was continually knocked over on her side until the dark surrounding faded into the familiar sight of the nursery. The sound of the pelting rain faded as Mountainkit looked at the blood-soaked figure at the entrance, it's eyes fierce and strong. Mountainkit looked at the warrior, fear engulfing her as she remembered the fight and the terror that gripped her body like a long, sharp claw. Then, the figure started to take a pawstep closer, and then another, not breaking their glare towards her. A loud shriek broke the silence, “Mountainkit!” as the bloody figure leapt at her. The floor from underneath Mountainkit gave away as she stood frozen in fear once more, and she was once again plunged far into darkness.

Mountainkit jolted awake, tears in her eyes, still in her own nest and wracked with fear, her mother giving her gentle licks as Mountainkit looked around. It was very early in the day, the sun barely started to creep it's light over the pine trees outside. “The rest of your siblings have already gone out, you should go with them too while Leafwhisker checks up on Juniperkit.” Her mother purred, giving a slightly worried glance towards Juniperkit who was sleeping soundly in his usual spot. Mountainkit nodded and padded out of the nursery, blinking the rest of her sleep- and her nightmare- away as she trailed off toward the elder’s den. On her way, she spotted Lionkit sitting beside their father, she's been doing that ever since the invasion. She stared up at him with wide and curious eyes; Raintrail was giving out patrols to the warriors.

From what Mountainkit could remember her clanmates said returning from the gathering a sunrise earlier, Patchstar denounced BrambleClan on attacking them for no objective reason, to which Smallstar sneered back that there were StoneClan scent marks deep into their own territory, and that they meant to send a message. But before Mountainkit could hear the rest, her mother stepped in and shooed her into the nursery and told her to mind her business.

The invasion seemed to change the entire Clan, from now on there was at least two warriors guarding the camp entrance and all warriors and apprentices had to go out in a group of two pairs or more, more patrols were set out, even Mountainkit's littermates had changed, saving Juniperkit. Sparrowkit and Emberkit would play fight constantly with their reasoning being to prove they were ready to defend in case of another invasion, Lionkit would follow around either their father or Redstone in camp, listening to whatever they had to say, but Mountainkit seemed much less affected, besides a few recurring nightmares like the one she had the night before. It was only about five sunrises ago that it happened after all, but nonetheless she felt secure in her camp.

“Mountainkit!” mewed a voice behind her, catching her by surprise. She turned around to see Frogjump, her belly much larger than the last time she checked. Frogjump was carrying a piece of fresh-kill, a vole if she wasn't mistaken, Mountainkit figured she just must be eating more than usual, “preparing for when her kits arrive” her mother says, although Mountainkit isn't exactly sure where kits arrive from.

“Oh, hi, Frogjump…” Mountainkit said, giving a small glance to Frogjumps belly.

“Are you going to go visit Ivytangle?” She flicked her ears over to the low rocks that were perfect for sunbathing, on one of them was an old tawny elder. “I'm sure she can tell you one of her stories.”

Mountainkit puffed her fur a little, “No I am not. I like to climb on the rocks where the elder’s den is, it's a lot safer and easier to keep my paws balanced.” She said in crude tone, she didn't like how easily the queen could tell what her plans were, “Plus my mother says you should mind your own business.” Frogjump drew her head back slightly in surprise and said nothing while the two only looked at one another.

She blinked, “Okay, Mountainkit, but it'll be important to at least try to be with and know your clanmates.” Frogjump returned to the nursery as Mountainkit gave her a final glance before moving off to the rocks beside the elder’s den.

The tawny she-cat Ivytangle was enjoying the sun until Mountainkit gave shade to her face and the old cat raised her head, “Mountainkit? What a surprise,” she mewed, “This is the first time you've come to visit me in all your two moons here. What's the occasion?” Ivytangle purred jokingly, but Mountainkit was hesitant in her response. “Well… I'm only here because none of my siblings wanna be with me, and everyone else is too busy and tired to be with me.” Mountainkit flattened her ears slightly in submission, though her words reflected a partial truth. Ivytangle took a slight nod and spoke quietly, “You're feeling lonely then, Mountainkit?” She was blunt, Mountainkit said nothing. “Don't worry, Mountainkit, I know how your mother is to other cats and this whole patrolling business will die down by the time you're apprenticed- as long as no other Clan stirs trouble- and you can still make peace with your siblings. No cat was meant to live a lonely life.” Ivytangle rested her head on her paws as she gestured Mountainkit to lay beside her, “You have your whole life ahead of your paws, any struggles now will pass, so keep your head up little warrior.” Mountainkit said nothing and took her place beside Ivytangle, giving a small glance towards the nursery. “You see Mountainkit, if you-” Ivytangle was interrupted by a growing hiss as Goldensky rushed from the nursery towards the two, Leafwhisker’s head poking out of the nursery with Juniperkit in their jaws. “Mountainkit!” Goldensky hissed, both Ivytangle and Mountainkit turned in shock, Mountainkit lowered herself to the ground.

“Ivytangle! What are you doing with my kit? I never asked you to look after her! Leave her alone!”

Ivytangle gave a low hiss as she sat up, muzzle to muzzle with her. “Goldensky get off my pelt!” She snarled, “Respect your elders; Mountainkit came to me from her own choice!”

The queen scoffed and yanked Mountainkit from the scruff, wincing from her mothers teeth, and hurriedly padded back to the nursery as Ivytangle called from her perch. “You can't isolate her forever, Goldensky! You can't isolate your kits!”

Goldensky dumped Mountainkit onto the empty nest and started to pace around the den, tail lashing, with Frogjump avoiding her gaze. “I need some time alone, Mountainkit, don't leave the nursery.” She hissed as she ran out of the den.

Frogjump looked towards Mountainkit’s small figure and carefully approached her, keeping an eye on the cave entrance, and whispered softly, “Mountainkit..?” To which she responded with a quiet mew. “Sorry about your mother, I’m sure she’s just worried about you and your siblings.”

Mountainkit pouted, “It’s not fair… It’s not fair she gets upset whenever I talk to someone or when you talk to us...” putting her head under her paws. Frogjump gave her a quick lick behind the ears, “Don’t you worry, little one, you still have your siblings to talk to, and you can talk to me whenever your mother goes out,” she looked at her belly and purred, “I won’t be going anywhere soon!”

Mountainkit didn’t make eye contact with her and instead continued, “My own siblings don’t like me, and Juniperkit barely exists in my life other than my sleeping brother!” she wailed, fear in her voice.

Frogjump nuzzled the small kit and wrapped her tail around her. “Kin can be difficult sometimes, but nothing can progress without you maing a choice about it. No one can take the first pawstep for you, and so it’s up to you to make your own trail.”

Mountainkit looked back at Frogjump and then outside the nursery. She thought deeply on what to do next as Frogjump purred, there was chatter outside as the familiar bundles of fur of her siblings rolled out in the camp clearing before they suddenly stopped. Mountainkit twitched her ears as Goldensky gave them loving licks before coralling them into the nursery.

When she looked back at Frogjump, Mountainkit saw nothing but the queen already deep in her nest and her mother nudging her aisde as she layed down. Her littermates pushed Mountainkit out of the way as they went in to drink their fill for a few moments until she fought back against them for the first time since she was born. She pawed and struggled her way to her mother’s belly despite her siblings mews of protest until Goldensky picked her up from the scruff and gently tossed her away once she was done. Though Mountainkit landed and rolled off her mother’s hindleg, she wouldn’t say it was a soft landing as she winced and rolled over into a more comfortable position and slipped into sleep watching her siblings drink.

Mountainkit’s eyes fluttered open when she felt a small kick from her mother, she shook her head as she stretched and yawned before nudging the rest of her siblings. As they slowly stirred from their sleep, Mountainkit looked towards the nursery entrance as a cool breeze flowed through the cave.

“M-Mountainkit?” Mewed Lionkit, giving her light brown fur a few licks, “What’s going on?”

Sparrowkit yawned, “Yeah, what gives? First you knock us from our meal, then you wake us up in the middle of the night?” Emberkit snorted awake as Sparrowkit gave her a quick kick.

“Ow! What’s going on?-”

“Hush! You’ll wake everyone else!” Hissed Mountainkit, she regained her composure as her siblings looked at her in surprise. Giving her fur a few quick licks, she told them nervously, “I- uh, I want to play with you some more…” they blinked, “I want to train with you too, I mean, you know?”

The nursery went quiet as Mountainkit’s siblings looked at one another, finally Lionkit stepped up, “Well it’s about time! Can’t believe you woke us up in the middle of the night to tell us this, StarClan you’re weird.” She gave Mountainkit a gentle pawing, “We’ll let you play with us, but _you’ll_ be playing by _our_ rules.” Mountainkit nodded along with her littermates and she went back to sleep near the edge of the nest as usual. “Mountainkit!” Whispered Sparrowkit, “Come sleep over here with us, it’s much warmer over here by Juniperkit!” She perked her ears and excitedly laid beside her sleeping brother. Sparrowkit was right, the new feeling of warmth made Mountainkit’s eyes heavy and she purred until she felt the bodies of her littermates stack on top of her. Breathless, she wiggled into a much better position as she could hear the faint snickering of her siblings. _It’s going to be a long night_ , she thought, positioning herself in a way so she can breathe somewhat easily under their weight.

(from Left to right: Mountainkit, Lionkit, Emberkit, Sparrowkit, Juniperkit)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this far! As usual feedback is always appreciated :>


	3. Chapter Two

As days and days had passed, Mountainkit was integrated more into the playgroup of her siblings. She heard occasional stories and had conversations with both Ivytangle and Frogjump behind her mother's back, and after three and a half moons since the night she slept with her siblings, the Clan's nerves had calmed and both warriors and apprentices could once again have time to relax. Slowly and despite her mother's possessiveness towards Mountainkit, she is able to slowly know her clanmates and become closer to them than ever before. 

The early wind of Leaf-bare chilled the nursery as Mountainkit rested on the bottom of the heap that are her littermates. A sharp kick from one of Mountainkit's siblings waked her up with a snort, though not uncommon, it still hurt as if it was the first time it happened. Slowly removing herself from the pile, Mountainkit hissed in annoyance as her paw pads touched the cold stone floor before leaving the nursery. 

The sky was still dark and the wind relentless and cold, but despite this, at the main entrance of the camp the dawn patrol was being assembled. Mountainkit flicked her ears, knowing that within the moon she and her siblings will become apprenticed during the cold season. It made her fur rise with unease and anxiety, her first Leaf-bare and she'll be spending it all in the snow looking for StarClan knows what. She was torn from her thoughts as her sister Lionkit dashed past her and watched the patrols beside their father and Redstone. Pinestep caught Mountainkit's eye as he spoke with the deputy and he gestured with his tail to come closer. 

He purred gently, "You're up early, Mountainkit, Raintrail gave me permission to take the both of you out of camp before the sun rises over the pines, do you want to come?" Lionkit's fur stood on its end as she nodded furiously while Mountainkit only gave a slight nod. Their father smiled and gave a quick nod to Raintrail as they made their way to the bramble exit behind the dawn patrol. 

Outside of the camp, Mountainkit dug her claws into the cold and hard earth and stretched as Pinestep carefully kept an eye on his kits as they went downhill. Lionkit was wide-eyed and enjoyed the early walk in the territory, taking in the new scents and letting her senses run wild. The sky was still dark and it was a bit difficult to see where Mountainkit was putting her paws, not to mention the stronger smell of the pines and moss and lichens. 

Mountainkit took her time under the tall pines, listening carefully to the faint tweetering of birds, until her sister charged at her playfully. Mountainkit quickly dodged, her tail would’ve been fresh-kill by now if not for the fact it was much shorter than her sister’s, and she ran toward and around Pinestep who was watching the two joyfully.  _ You’re not getting me this time, I need to think fast! _ Her eyes darted back and forth, running over ferns with Lionkit’s hot breath on her heels. She shrieked playfully as she jumped onto the trunk of a tall pine, digging her claws into the dark brown bark and scrambling up higher while feeling the body of her sister hit the base of the tree.

“Hey! Mountainkit! That’s not fair!” Yelled Lionkit, who was hushed by their father. Pinestep looked up at Mountainkit as she proudly climbed onto one of the branches. She felt a great rush climbing the pine, thanking StarClan in her heart that she was able to get up safely and she boasted. “Ha! You’ll have to be faster than that to catch me, Lionkit!” She purred to herself,  _ Finally, being the prey in hunter and prey is starting to pay off. _ Mountainkit was about to continue her gloating until she looked down, Pinestep and Lionkit looking at her from very far down below.  Mountainkit’s fur bristled and her grip on the branch tightened, she’s never been this high before, not even climbing on the mountainside in camp. 

“Mountainkit!” Meowed her father, “Mountainkit, can you get down?” He looked at her with his eyes wide with concern, Lionkit only looked in confusion.

“P-Pinestep!” Mountainkit wailed, her breathing hastened and she saw the dark brown pelt of her father come closer as he started climbing up. Suddenly there was a bird call, making Mountainkit jump in her fur and the branch she put her weight on creaked slightly. 

“Mountainkit, I’m almost there! Hold on!” She heard the sound of claws on bark as Pinestep was a tail-length away from her, she looked at him with her green eyes wide and fearful, then they caught sight of something moving between the trees; a sparrow. 

“Mountainkit, climb down with me.” 

Her father’s words took her focus away from the bird and she slowly took her paws off the branch and sank her claws into the pine. Slowly, Mountainkit started to climb down the tree, nervous as she could only turn her head to get a glimpse of what’s below her. She hissed to herself as her father gave her slight words of encouragement while Lionkit only looked on tensely before a warning cry and the sound of wings distracted Mountainkit, causing one of her back paws to slip slightly and a strong shiver of fear ran up her spine.  _ Rat’s guts! _ Before she could relax, the sparrow she spotted earlier was right in front of her, screeching and flapping it's wings like a crazed animal.

The stress was too much for her to bare and Mountainkit panicked, haphazardly jumping off the trunk, claws unsheathe, and landed clumsily on her paws before falling on her side. Her head was spinning and the sparrow’s cries seemed to have disappeared as Mountainkit s vision grew foggy. She shook her head as her sister's figure came into view, “... you completely mouse-brained?!” Mountainkit blinked, her legs feeling wobbly, “... and that bird, too! What was… that about…” 

Lionkit moved her gaze to behind Mountainkit, and in turn she looked over her shoulder to see Patchstar with the sparrow in his jaws, Pinestep had only just jumped down and hurried over to her.

The sun's light was just beginning to peak on the tips of the pines, a cool breeze barely ruffling anyone's fur, and there was a moment of silence.

“Patchstar…” Pinestep mewed, “I'm so sorry, Raintrail told me I could bring them out of camp for only a few moments, I…” he hung his head low, “I never meant it to get out of hand.”

Patchstar put the sparrow down on the cold floor. It was dead, and lifeless.

“It's quite all right, Pinestep, my deputy should know better than to let kits out of camp, even with an established warrior like yourself, I'll have a word with him later.” He looked to the kits, his shadow looming over the both of them. “Now you must understand why kits must stay in camp?” They nodded, Mountainkit’s head was low and her tail drooped.

Patchstar lowered his head to Mountainkit's eye-level, “I was hunting this sparrow when I accidently spooked it towards you, I had no idea you were there until it was too late, but look. When you jumped off the pine, you cut its wing and I was able to kill it before it escaped.” Mountainkit said nothing.

She looked at her paw, there was a light crimson color on her claw-tips. She felt slightly queasy. 

Patchstar’s ear twitched,

“Let's go back to camp, then.” He said as he turned and padded away, Lionkit on his heels as Mountainkit trudged behind her, paws heavy. Pinestep kept her from getting too far behind, but said nothing. 

Lionkit looked over her shoulder and waited to be shoulder to shoulder with Mountainkit, “Hey,” she said  “I thought you were really brave…” 

Mountainkit s eyes lit up, “Really?”

“...Pretty brave for a mouse-heart, I mean!”

Lionkit smirked and laughed while Mountainkit hissed playfully, “I'll show  _ you _ brave, fox-heart!”

The two threw paws at one another before Pinestep gave a low hiss, “Behave yourselves! You should be acting like apprentices, not kits who just left the nursery!”

Mountainkit stopped, letting her ears lie flat, and her fur was hot with embarrassment, meanwhile Lionkit kept her head high. 

She looked at her in envy,  _ How does she just shrug it off? Why can't  _ I _ do that?  _

They made it to camp as the sun was finally in view, sunbeams piercing slightly between the pines. Patchstar entered past the brambles, then Lionkit and Pinestep, with no resistance, and as Mountainkit went through, she could feel the bramble thorns on her pelt, giving her a quick shiver, before entering the camp clearing. She licked her fur quickly and from the corner of her eye she saw a very familiar pelt.

“Pinestep!” called her mother as she greeted her loving mate, “Pinestep I must talk to you,” she gave a quick glance towards her, “... alone, please?”

Mountainkit couldn't help but look at her parents in confusion and Lionkit bumped into her playfully, “C’mon, Mountainkit! I'm gonna tell the rest of our littermates what happened, unless you stop me that is!”

Mountainkit blinked before hurriedly running after her sister as she dashed into the nursery. Inside, Lionkit skidded on the smooth stone floor, her claws unable to help slow her down, as she knocked into the pile of their siblings. Mountainkit let out a  _ mrow  _ of laughter at the den entrance, thankfully she wasn't going fast enough to slip.

“Invasion! Help!” Wailed Emberkit, flailing in the nest as Lionkit and Sparrowkit struggled to get up. Juniperkit was taken by Leafwhisker to the medicine cats den, and he hasn't returned since.

“Would you quiet down you bird-brain? It's barely sunrise!” Hissed Sparrowkit as he heaved himself up, giving quick licks to his messy fur before being knocked over again by Lionkit picking herself up.

“Invasion?” Mummered Frogjump sleepily, her fur already bristling from the thought.

Mountainkit hopped happily over to the queen and purred, “Nope! Emberkit just got scared because Lionkit ran into them!”

Frogjump breathed a long sigh of relief, “That's good, I don't know what I'll do if my kits arrive during an invasion.” She looked fondly at her enlarged belly. After she told Mountainkit where kits came from, she couldn't stop wondering how it must feel to carry them, let alone what it must feel to be  _ kitting _ . 

“Oh, oh well…! I'll go get Leafwhisker for you then!” Mewed Mountainkit.

“Wait!” yelled Sparrowkit, running up behind Mountainkit. “I wanna go too!”

She nodded quickly left the nursery with her brother and scrambled up the stone wall to the medicine cat’s den. The scent of herbs was faint and there seemed a strong atmosphere of stillness and quiet that unsettled Mountainkit. She could see the bundle of fur that was Juniperkit sleeping in a nest lined with soft feathers, she felt a pang of jealousy as- 

“Mountainkit, Sparrowkit, greetings!”

She jumped, fur bristled and tail fluffed out, as Leafwhisker appeared from the shadowy back of the den.

“Oh, sorry.” Leafwhisker said, “I didn't mean to scare you like that! What brings you two here?”

Mountainkit shook her fear away, “Frogjump is worried about her kits, I think... I told her I'd come get you!”

“And I just wanted to come along and see Juniperkit!” Mewed Sparrowkit.

Leafwhisker’s tail-tip twitched, “Juniperkit’s doing just fine, I'm making sure he isn't sick and he's eating and drinking ok. But thank you for reminding me, I was planning to check up on Frogjump, her kits are later than expected and I want to make sure everything's ok.” She paused at the very edge of the den and turned towards them, “Don't disturb your brother, ok?” 

The two littermates nodded as the medicine cat left their sight.

“Let's go back and try to get some sleep then.” Said Sparrowkit, stretching his paws out as he started climbing down the stones, Mountainkit on his tail.

“ _ I _ caught a sparrow this morning.” Mountainkit boasted, head high.

Sparrowkit turned towards her, stopping dead in his tracks. 

“You certainly did  _ not _ !” He declared.

“It's true, I was playing with Lionkit outside camp with Pinestep and I caught it.” She stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

“Yeah right, and I'm a  _ real _ sparrow!” He teased, giving her a little push.

“Just look at the fresh-kill pile! The dawn patrol isn't even back yet so there's more proof it's  _ my _ prey.”

The two turned toward the large stone that was in the shade of a pine and, sure enough, there lied the tiny body of a sparrow.

Sparrowkit lashed his tail, “I'll go ask Lionkit then.” He said smugly. “I'm sure she's not a liar like you!”

The two kits ran toward the nursery, but were cut short when they heard a loud yowl coming from inside the den. 

Lionkit and Emberkit both ran out towards them, “Frogjump’s kits are coming!”

Warriors came out of their dens, fur bristled and ready for action. 

“What’s going on?!” cried Fallingbird, his yellow eyes wide with fear.

“The kits are coming!” yowled Leafwhisker, poking her head out of the nursery, “Sunpelt! Come with me! I need someone to bring me damp moss and some twigs, quick!”

The entire Clan seemed to have frozen until Sunpelt yelled, “Damp moss and twigs! A queen's kitting, hurry up!” and dashed into the nursery as everycat scrambled to fetch something.

Mountainkit and her littermates sat in worry besides the nursery until Littlebelly came up to them, “Ok, kits! Let's get you somewhere a little more comfortable.” She mewed, nudging Mountainkit away gently.

“W-wait!” She protested, “Frogjump is my friend! I want to fetch her some moss too!”

Littlebelly looked awkwardly at them, but agreed, and the five cats gathered what moss could be found around camp; between rocks and stones, under trees, and placed them at the entrance of the nursery.

Inside, Mountainkit could catch glimpses of the two cats; there were splinters over the floor and a large twig between Frogjump’s teeth. “Ok, push, Frogjump!” Meowed Leafwhisker. In response, Frogjump wailed through the twig, snapping it in half.

“Something's wrong,” she moaned, “Leafwhisker something's wrong--” she broke into another wail that shook Mountainkit's being, making her paws seem frozen in place.

Goldensky and Pinestep ran into camp, followed by the dawn patrol. Mountainkit’s mother caught sight of her and flung herself to her kit, grasping her scruff and dragging her away from the nursery. 

“Wait, Goldensky--” Her father started.

“Mountainkit! You should stay away from that mangy queen!”

Pinestep flattened his ears, and soon some of their clanmates started to stare.

Mountainkit squirmed free and ran off with her siblings as Pinestep and Goldensky began to argue with one another. Raintrail and Patchstar approached the Clan, everyone tense and waiting to hear the news of the kits, and they spoke, “Everyone! We know you're worried and curious about Frogjump’s kits, but we must continue our warrior duties! Should Frogjump wait for fresh-kill because we wanted to hear the latest news? No! Raintrail and I are going to lead a hunting patrol now, come if you wish!”

Then, enough cats gathered for two hunting patrols by the camp exit and with a flick of Patchstar’s tail, they left while a pawful of warriors had stayed.

 

Time seemed to stand still, but the cold breeze continued its push and the pines creaked with Frogjump’s wailing while the rest of the cats could only look on. Mountainkit was wrapped in Ivytangle’s fur and the rest of her siblings were being held by their mother and father, Goldensky bristling slightly.

She flattened herself to Ivytangle’s side, covering her ears. What was happening? Was her kitting like this for Goldensky? 

For what seemed a whole moon, finally, the wailing had stopped and in it's place was an even louder silence. The whole camp was tense and quiet, too afraid to move, as if they were all holding their breath.

Then, Leafwhisker came out of the nursery, blood on her muzzle and paws, her yellow eyes were dark and hazy.

“Five kits…” She croaked. “All dead.”

Mountainkit’s heart sank.  _ All dead? StarClan you can't be so cruel! _ She drew her head up and looked at the nursery. There was no way she could just sit here while a friend was suffering. Mountainkit dashed towards the nursery, feeling Ivytangle’s claws graze her tail, dodging every other cats paws as the sky darkened behind her.

The nursery was dark and cold, a heavy stench replaced the sweet scent of milk, Sunpelt was lying beside Frogjump, there was blood on both their pelts. Mountainkit slowly approached the two, Frogjump’s breathing was rough and she leaned onto Sunpelt, eyes closed and wracked with grief, and against her belly were five wet bundles of fur. _Oh StarClan, they_ are _dead…_ Mountainkit shut her eyes tight and fought the strong instinct to run away, she had to show courage and be here for Frogjump. 

Sunpelt looked up at Mountainkit, her eyes much the same like Leafwhisker, and she fell back to her position, almost cradling the queen. She was close enough to see the bodies; they weren't small, or sickly, if not for the lack of movement, they could've been alive and drinking their mother's milk. She turned away from them and buried her nose on Frogjump’s flank which made her flinch, then relax. The queen sobbed, voice weak and shaken.

Leafwhisker entered the den once again, Patchstar and Raintrail standing by the entrance. She carried several small black seeds in her jaws and dropped them by Frogjump and Sunpelt, “Eat these, they will help with the shock.” 

Leafwhisker picked up Mountainkit by her scruff, and through her protest and struggling, she dragged her out of the den. “Your kindness is honorable, but you should not see something like this at your age.” She muttered through her teeth after setting her down. Ivytangle placed a firmer grip on Mountainkit and pulled her aside towards the elder’s den,

“Let's go to my nest and I'll fetch you some fresh-kill and we can share stories inside.” She purred.

Mountainkit sighed and agreed, dragging her heavy paws to the elder’s nest, laying down on the soft moss. Outside the Clan slowly went by their duties, quiet as before, however. Some of them whispered quiet concerns and gossip, others spoke only of grief. Patchstar was speaking to the newest warriors; Pondsplash, Bellowingstag, Gorsesong, and Jayflower. Mountainkit could remember their warrior ceremony vividly, since it only happened about five sunrises ago.  _ He must be giving them words of encouragement… But who knows what he can say now... _ She placed her head on her paws and thought deeply about Frogjump and the image of the dead kits. She can still image the poor things; at their mother's belly, not even a splash of blood on their wet fur, lifeless.

She shut her eyes tightly, remembering the queen's wails that seemed to echo and reach far past StoneClan territory, her cries that tore through her heart and the heart of the Clan. The sight of her weak and bloody body as--

“Mountainkit, I got you a vole!”

Her eyes snapped open as Ivytangle purred, a somewhat plump vole in her jaws.

“Let's share this, is that ok with you?”

“Yeah, sure.” Mountainkit mumbled, laying her head on her side.

She could only take a few bites before being drained of energy; this day was too much for the poor kit, too much grief and sadness and blood. She wished StarClan would be more merciful, and if they would be merciful to  _ her _ . Mountainkit could not bear to think what StarClan’s answer would be, spending the rest of the day half-heartedly listening to Ivytangle before drifting to sleep.

 

Mountainkit awoke to a sharp hiss coming from outside the elder’s den. She was wrapped around Ivytangle’s tawny tail who was snoring gently. She carefully and slowly stepped out of the elder’s reach, keeping a close eye on her in case she would awaken.

Outside, there were silhouettes of two cats, one surrounded by the others on opposite ends, one was sitting and the other was bristling, letting out a slow, weak hiss. The moon was cold and fat in the starry sky, was StarClan watching over them?  _ Were Frogjump’s kits watching over  _ her _? _

“You fox-hearts! You cowards!” Frogjump sneered, her legs struggling to keep her up. She swung her head at Leafwhsiker, “ _ Traitor! _ You  _ killed _ my kits! You fed me something horrible and killed them!” Almost lunging at the medicine cat, she instead lashed her tail.

Short of breath, Leafwhisker responded, “Frogjump, I had to! I had to kill your kits or else you would've died with them! When you were giving birth, all five of them knotted together!” Frogjump’s ears drew back as she continued, “If I didn't do anything, they still would've struggled and you would be dead with them!” She hissed.

“You  _ took _ them from me, and you will never do so again… Nobody ever will!”

Frogjump charged toward the two, revealing the third cat to be just the huddled bodies of the dead kits, as she made her way to the medicine cat. Leafwhisker jumped, her claws now unsheathed, and swiped at the queen's face. Thankfully, Frogjump stopped only half a tail-length away from Leafwhisker’s claws. Her green eyes glowed with hatred and despair in the night, wide open with anger. She stood over her dead children's bodies protectively, bristling. Leafwhisker looked over and Mountainkit caught her glimpse, the medicine cat’s eyes widened and she turned back when Frogjump hissed.

The thought of her clanmates drawing each other's blood made Mountainkit's stomach churn, and soon she could no longer bear the sight of the two and returned to Ivytangle’s warm grasp in a quick disheartening motion.

There was no dream for Mountainkit that night.

 

The morning's light touched Mountainkit's fur, it's warmth only a faint fragment from Leaf-fall, and she opened her eyes to find an empty nest. Blinking, she looked outside to where she last saw Frogjump, but instead there was only a group of cats outside the elder’s den, facing away from Mountainkit. There was white flakes slowly falling on their pelts.  _ Snow! _ Mountainkit stretched and hurriedly padded out of the den. Usually there would be cold rains around this time before snow, and her conversations about snow with Frogjump and Ivytangle made the soft white fluff seem so joyous and a wonder, but dangerous too. Ivytangle told her about a snow day when she was a kit where the entire camp was covered in snow, from the clearing to the top of the elderlog.  _ She said you could jump from the elder log and land in the soft snow without getting hurt! _

Mountainkit purred as she stepped out, suddenly, a wave of fear-scent entered her nostrils. Her fur stood on end as she broke through the crowd of cats; Frogjump was curled up, her kittens pushed against her belly, her body was stiff, frozen. 

She was dead.

A sorrowful call came from high above, “All cats old enough to catch their own prey, hear my words from the elder log.”

As the cats looked above them, Leafwhisker was sitting beside their leader, her eyes tired. Mountainkit almost swore she gave her a quick glance, but before she could think, Patchstar spoke.

“Today is a mournful day, not only were five promising kits dead, but out of grief their mother, Frogjump has joined them in StarClan. May they all enjoy the warm sun and be at peace…”

Some of the cats muttered quiet prayers while others stayed quiet.  _ I'm sorry I wasn't able to do more for you, or the kits _ .

“But,” continued Patchstar, “Our grief cannot stop  _ us _ from our duties. Leaf-bare is here, and we will need all the paws we can get, therefore…” Mountainkit tensed; was Patchstar really going to make her and her littermates apprentices? “Lionkit, Emberkit, Sparrowkit, and Mountainkit.”  _ Yes! It's finally time! If only Frogjump was here to see. _ The four of them carefully ascended to the elder log, each one as excited as the next. 

Patchstar stood across from them, proudly, “You have all reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Lionpaw,” her blue eyes lit up as he called her name, “Your mentor will be Redstone, he will no doubt pass down his loyalty and honor to you.” 

He looked to the next kit, “Emberpaw, your mentor will be Oakclaw, she is very smart and wise and she will no doubt teach you much. Sparrowpaw, your mentor will be Bugstripe, he will pass down his bravery and skill to you.”

Then it was Mountainkit's turn, she looked up, keeping herself from trembling.

“Mountainpaw, your mentor will be Adderjump, I hope he will pass down his courage and determination on to you.” 

The Clan cheered their names and Mountainpaw glowed with happiness and pride, she was sure even the MeadowClan warriors could hear her purr. She looked at the crowd, Ivytangle held her tail high as she called out her name, Pinestep looked lovingly toward them, but she heard no mention of her in Goldensky’s voice.

Below them, their mentors had already gathered in a line, Lionpaw almost flying down the stones, eager to meet her new mentor. Mountainpaw was the last to reach her mentor, but only after her two other siblings almost fell on their faces trying to get to their mentors after slipping on an icy stone.

She looked at her mentors bright ginger coat and purred, touching noses with him, his amber eyes were kind. 

“I'll be the best apprentice I can be!” She whispered.

“You're already doing a great job.” He purred back.

Mountainpaw felt a blooming feeling of joy within her, so much so she almost forgot the grief of Frogjump’s death.  _ I  _ will  _ be the best apprentice, not only for my mentor, but for Frogjump as well! _


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Sorry for the late upload, I've been recently busy with my job and with school, only being able to put in a sentence or two between my free time, this chapter is a lil bit longer than the others though, hope you enjoy!

“We're apprentices now! Apprentices!” Sparrowpaw squealed, playfully nudging his littermates. They laughed and started to wrestle with one another before Bugstripe purred at them, “Can't you kits keep your excitement down? You're supposed to be acting like apprentices!”

Lionpaw looked at Redstone excitedly, “Can we go look at the territory now?”

“Oh yes yes! Oakclaw, can I go too?”

“Yeah, Bugstripe can we go with them?”

The three begged at their mentors, Mountainpaw yearned to see the territory as well, but tried hard to act like a warrior. Her mentor must've noticed the quiet enthusiasm in her eyes and he nodded towards her. Mountainpaw could barely hold her excitement! She'd already seen a tiny piece of the territory, but now she was going with the rest of her siblings! She stopped for a moment, remembering Jaykit, and looked over her shoulder at the medicine cat’s den. Was he sick enough to not be apprenticed? Was something going to happening to him too?

Adderjump waved his tail for silence, “Then it's settled. As a group we'll go down the mountain, there's a very special tradition every newly-made apprentice goes through, and you four are no different.” 

Mountainpaw twitched her whiskers.  _ Tradition? Frogjump and Ivytangle never told me about a tradition!  _

She stuck close to her mentor, his long legs would make it easier to see him in a crowd. She didn't know too much about him, only that he's the eldest out of the four mentors, Mountainpaw tried to think of anything else she remembered about him.

They passed the bramble wall, somehow the thorns seemed colder than ice when they touched Mountainpaw’s pelt. The snow was falling more over the land, covering earth and stone and all other things between. It landed softly on her back, sending shivers up her spine everytime she shook it off.

Huddled together, the eight of them carefully tread over the cold floor, with the new apprentices looking all around them, eyes wide and curious. Sunlight lightly touched their path through the trees that loomed over them.

“Hey, look!” called Sparrowpaw, his brown pelt deeply contrasted the disturbed snow ahead of him. He raised his long tail in concern, “These tracks smell  _ awful _ ! Don't tell me there's been a patrol around here.”

“It's probably Marrowfoot’s scent!” Mrowed Emberpaw, “She's so old, you could smell her from the next Clan’s camp!”

She laughed until Oakclaw cuffed the young apprentice’s ear. “Be nice! She's always been the first cat to bring prey straight to the nursery, show some respect.”

Emberpaw hung her head.

“Quiet.” Said Adderjump, sniffing the tracts, “They're fox tracts, pretty faint, they haven't been around for a while.” He turned to Sparrowpaw, “You have a strong nose. You have a great apprentice on your paws, Bugstripe.”

Sparrowpaw beamed with pride and Bugstripe purred.

“All of you take a whiff of this, remember how this scent, it might save your life or Clan one day.” Stated Redstone.

One by one the apprentices took in the faint scent of the fox, thought it  _ was _ faint, Mountainpaw couldn't help but scrunch her nose and almost gag.

With a flick of Adderjump’s tail, the party went on their way once more down the mountain.

“Shouldn't we see where the fox went?” said Emberpaw, a slight worry in her voice.

“Yeah, what if it goes to the Clan?” Lionpaw mewed.

Oakclaw looked behind her, “The scent’s pretty faint, and the snow isn't falling so hard, if that mange-pelt decided to mess with us, it wouldn't be today.” She reassured.

Mountainpaw breathed a small sigh of relief, she's heard of the dangers foxes can pose to a Clan.

“Although,” said Bugstripe.

She gulped.

“Once, a little while before you kits were born, there was this nasty,  _ nasty _ fox that wandered onto our territory from CreekClan. Supposively once it finished ravaging their camp, it swam across the stream in the middle of the night.”

The apprentices began to get tense, fur bristling.

“It was snooping around our territory for a while before the dawn patrol found it, right?” Redstone meowed.

Adderjump nodded, his voice was different in tone, “The patrol didn't  _ find _ it, they ran  _ into _ it. I was there, and it was awful. He sure put up a fight, we had to retreat into the pines for safety, I was sure he'd bite my tail off!”

Mountainpaw’s eyes widened.  _ Bite his tail off..? _ She looked behind at her very short tail, what if a fox snuck into camp one day and  _ really  _ bit part her tail off? It's always been short since she remembered, but now… She was worried.

“Oh! I bet Mountainpaw had  _ her _ tail bit off from the fox.” Sparrowpaw teased, Mountainpaw hissed back.

“Yeah, right!” Purred Lionpaw stepping on their brother's long tail, “I'm pretty sure  _ you _ took the rest of her tail!”

“Hey! Don't think that doesn't hurt!” cried Sparrowpaw.

“It's  _ supposed _ to, mouse-brain!”

“Enough, the both of you!” Snapped Redstone, “I should expect my own  _ apprentice _ to be kind to her clanmates, shouldn't I?”

Mountainpaw blinked, she'd never heard the red warrior raise his voice, not once, and she felt a strong pang of sympathy towards her sister.

“Yes, Redstone…” mummered Lionpaw, her paw steps much heavier than before.

Adderjump spoke up once again, “You four just remember; foxes are real threats, but they're not the only beast on four legs over here that cause damage.”

The cats walked silently, treading carefully through the snow and pines, the wind was finally picking up, seeming to blow straight through Mountainpaw and making her shiver. The apprentices stood close, fur brushing fur, to keep themselves warm.

Mountainpaw looked behind her, the great stone cliff of camp was bathed in light and she could see the elder log poking out, below the cliff lied several smooth stones jutting out of the earth. She winced, thinking what might happen if some cat slipped and fell.  _ At least, maybe the snow would make it safer? _ She shook her head.  _ I'm lucky StarClan looked after my paws.  _

Further down, the group came across a steam, it's current was slow and it carried ice and snow. The apprentices looked at their mentors with worried glances; the stream was only about a tail-length, but that didn't stop them from worrying.

“Alright, jump over, quickly.” Ordered Adderjump, already on the other side with a swift leap.

One by one, the cat's made it across safely, when Mountainpaw had jumped, she had underestimated the gap and landed with one paw in the water. She hissed under her breath as the icy water seemed to have bit her hind paw, nonetheless she tried her best to shrug it off.

“Where did this even come from? I thought the river is only supposed to be in CreekClan territory.” Lionpaw asked, shaking snow off her light brown fur.

Redstone purred, “You're correct about that, my apprentice,” Lionpaw beamed, “I'll explain as we get closer.”

Once again, the cat's kept their steady march, passing a small clearing with an awkwardly placed hill.

“You see, where we are right now, we're closer to BrambleClan than CreekClan, but in their territory is a great river with plentiful fish, and from that river, streams and creeks flow out of it into all the Clans.”

“ _ I'm  _ pretty sure it's StarClan's way of saying that those fish-faces can't keep their paws in their own borders.” Snorted Bugstripe.

“Or a sign that if the  _ other  _ Clans figured out how to fish, we could kick them out.” Redstone laughed half-heartedly.

Adderjump lashed his tail against the ginger warrior, “Don't even think about it! No one should have their territory, we know full well why, too. Their Clan is cursed…”

Sparrowpaw flattened his ears, “Cursed…?”

Adderjump’s eyes narrowed as he kept his pace, “There is so much water from the river and it's streams, it swells like an infected wound and the water bleeds into the land. All that water to hold fish, and where there's food, more than cats have their eyes on it. Large black beasts, come down from the mountain and gorge on their prey. They could eat a warrior whole if they chose to.”

Mountainpaw’s fur bristled at the thought.  _ If they can do  _ that  _ to a warrior, imagine what they can do to me! _

“Hey,” Interrupted Bugstripe, causing the apprentices to jump. “We're coming up to the bridge. Let's try not to scare the kits with old queens tales.” He purred.

Mountainpaw swore she saw Adderjump glare at the tabby warrior, but she shook her head, tossing out the thought.

Mountainpaw looked past the mentors and saw the tree line edge coming closer to the group; the sun was shining in the sky creeping toward its peak, and yet the snow had already stopped falling, the sun did not share its warmth to the cats as it once did. In front of them, past the pine trees, there was a sweeping stream, and beyond that, more trees, bare of leaves, and something in a clearing she couldn't see too well. A swift breeze seemed to pull Mountainpaw closer to the water, it was icy and moving at a much faster speed than the one she briefly touched, and it was far too wide to jump.  _ Oh StarClan, please don't tell me we have to wade or  _ swim  _ through this!  _ Mountainpaw prayed silently.

Lionpaw piped up, “Don't tell me we have to swim through that! I'll freeze my paws off!”

Redstone shot her a glance and she quickly made herself quiet and behaved.

Mountainpaw felt a pang of sympathy towards Lionpaw and placed her paw over hers as a sign of solidarity. Lionpaw looked over, her blue eyes dim, and gave a thankful nod. The rest of her littermates kept quiet, nervous of getting scolded or snapped at from their own mentors, flicking their tails and shuffling their paws.

Redstone lashed his tail and raised it high for the others to follow, bounding far ahead of Adderjump, and lead the cats to a fallen pine trunk; it's roots were deep into the earth, but it lied above the stream to where it touched far across the other side.

“Quickly, apprentices, stay close to your mentors. The trunk is strong, but that doesn't mean you can't slip off and land in the stream, we're at the very border of our territory and we don't want you swept off to BrambleClan.” Redstone stated.

Lionpaw gave a small look towards Mountainpaw before running up to join her mentor, her tail nervously tucked slightly between her legs. Mountainpaw followed closely behind Adderjump as he stepped onto the log, and sank her claws into the bark, behind her followed Sparrowpaw and Emberpaw with their respective mentors keeping near the back.

“Can you  _ imagine _ what's gonna be on the other side?” whispered Sparrowpaw, his voice filled with excitement.

“I'm just glad this tree's here so we can cross.” Emberpaw mumbled under her breath, “And  _ stop  _ waving your tail in front of my whiskers!”

Mountainpaw ignored them, pushing aside her brother's excitement, and could hear the stream in her ears, amplified by her anxiety, and was only a nose-length away from her mentors hindquarters. She prayed to StarClan silently, praying for protection from the stream, but she was taken out of focus to the sound of claws scraping bark behind her.

She whipped her head back and heard the wails of her brother as bark flew into the air as he desperately tried to hold on. Mountainpaw reared back, digging her claws into a wet part of the log, feeling moisture wet her paws, and was able to grab part of Sparrowpaw’s scruff before the warriors were able to heave the apprentice on solid tree.

He gripped the pine as if his pelt would be ripped off if he didn't, and Mountainpaw couldn't blame him. His fur bristled from the shock and behind him, Bugstripe went up beside him and whispered something in his ear. Then he rose his tail,

“Alright, kits, let's cross quickly and safely, let's get back to camp before nightfall.”

The dark tom gently nudged Sparrowpaw onto his feet, and the cats continued once more.

_ Oh thank StarClan! _ Mountainpaw pounced on the ground, feeling the snow on her paws. She ran up ahead with her mentor as Oakclaw joined the group at the rear.

“So then,” Mountainpaw mewed, “What territory  _ are _ we in, since we just crossed the border?”

Adderjump looked down at his apprentice kindly and waited a moment to address the apprentices.

“This is supposedly  _ StarClan's  _ territory, but in other terms, this small batch of territory doesn't belong to any of the Clans, and it sure isn't part of any loner’s or twolegs’ territory.”

“It's holy ground for us,” continued Redstone, his voice was unwavering and strong, “This is where the Clans started, and where we have our gatherings, it's  _ strictly _ forbidden to spill Clan blood here.” 

The apprentices looked on with wide eyes, there wasn't much of anything that was too special about this land. Trees barren of leaves were dotted about sparsely and snow covered the bushes and stones that slightly jutted out of the earth, and there was something quite large and flat up ahead, with something sticking out of it.

“ _ This _ is  _ StarClan  _ territory? Are we going to see any StarClan cats?” Emberpaw asked, facing her mentor.

Oakclaw purred, “Every apprentice gets to meet StarClan for their blessing before their training starts.”

Excitement awoke in Mountainpaw’s heart,  _ Frogjump! I get to see the kits, too! _

Obviously her littermates also felt a strong burst of excitement, they looked around themselves to try to find any glimmer of the starry pelts of the StarClan cats. Mountainpaw’s whiskers twitched as she saw something move in a clearing where the large flat object was and she craned her neck slightly to get a better view. Against the snow, she could see small flecks of dark spots moving along near the edge of a large moor by a large oak tree, she narrowed her eyes to try to identify what they were, but to no avail.

Adderjump purred, “No, those aren’t any StarClan cats.” He motioned to the specks with his tail, “They’re a MeadowClan border patrol, they shouldn’t give us any trouble.”

He raised his tail, “C’mon then, apprentices, you won’t see any of our ancestors here,” and bound toward the flat object with Redstone by his side.

Quickly, the apprentices ran after the two warriors, followed by Bugstripe and Oakclaw, speaking amongst themselves in a happy manner, “You’d think it was their first time opening their eyes!” “You’re one to talk, Oakclaw, if I’m not mistaken,  _ you _ were like that too!”

The flat object turned out to be a giant oak stump, covered with snow, it was as tall as a warrior and almost four times as long! And at its center was an odd thing growing, it gave off a strange aura that made Mointainpaw’s fur rise. Mountainpaw jumped onto the tree stump, she could almost feel the oaks age through her paws as her claws barely scraped over the wood, its edges were uneven and weathered. Sweeping the snow off with her paws, she could feel as if there were paw prints imprinted onto the wood. Her eyes widened.

“This is the Great Oak, this is where we meet for gatherings and where we can meet our warrior ancestors.” Meowed Redstone, jumping on the stump along with the rest of Mountainpaw’s siblings.

“This here,” Adderjump pointed to the odd thing sticking out from the center of the Great Oak, “Is a sapling.” The apprentices looked at once another, confused, a sapling growing from a tree stump? 

“Long ago, the Great Oak grew strong and tall, and the Clans were the same.” He looked over the young cats. “But then, there were disasters that came to the Clans; prey was more scarce than ever, and an endless rain made it so sickness spread easily. Each Clan’s tensions were high, ready for war over morsels of prey, then, during a great battle between all Clans in this clearing, StarClan sent a bolt of lighting that struck down the Great Oak and stopped the fighting. The cats returned to their Clans, thinking their warrior ancestors had forsaken them and cursed them to die.”

“No!” gasped Sparrowpaw, before being hushed by Lionpaw. Mountainpaw looked nervously at Sparrowpaw before focusing again at her mentor.  _ Would StarClan ever think of forsaking us? Did they forsake Frogjump and her kits? _ She gulped nervously.

“But, by sunrise…” Adderjump continued, “The rains had stopped, and once they returned to where the Great Oak lied, they saw a small green sprout at its center.”

“It was a sign of StarClan, to make peace during troubling times, instead of destroying each other.”

Redstone interrupted him.

“Touch your nose to the sapling and close your eyes, in the sun the connection to StarClan isn’t as strong as it is at night, but I don’t think we’d keep you too long without your first meal as apprentices.” He purred.

Lionpaw as the first to approach the sapling, taking cautionate sniffs, before laying down and leaning into it. Mountainpaw looked on curiously as Sparrowpaw was next, then Emberpaw touched noses with the sapling. Finally, when it was Mountainpaw’s turn, the snow on the sapling had already fallen off beside her sleeping siblings, she looked to her mentor for reassurance and he nodded slightly, the other mentors were talking amongst themselves, worryless.

It had only two or so small leaves on it, and it was a faint brown color like regular bark, it seemed normal, but getting closer and closer to it only made Mountainpaw more nervous. Finally, she laid down besides Sparrowpaw and Lionpaw, leaned her nose onto the sapling, and closed her eyes.

At first, there was nothing but darkness. Mountainpaw looked around to see nothing except a slight glimmer appearing from above, like stars.

“StarClan…?” She asked, looking high above, a slight hint of worry in her voice.

There was no answer.

The darkness faded into the familiar sight of pine trees in the night and Mountainpaw felt at ease, that is before a foul smell entered her nose. It smelled of a foul rank, and of blood. She turned around to where the scent was and saw a fox ravage an unfamiliar cat in the a shadow of a pine tree, it flopped like a piece of prey in the fox’s jaws and their pelt was stained with blood.

“This isn’t StarClan…!” Whispered Mountainpaw, fearful and already bristling as the fox snapped its head towards her, dropping the cat on the floor as if it was crow-food, blood splattering on Mountainpaw’s paws.

Mountainpaw’s breathing hitched as the fox lunged at her, her paws seemingly frozen in place before sprinting away at the last second. If not for her short tail, the fox would have already torn it off; it’s breathing was ragged and hot on her hindpaws as the two raced through the pine forest. She tried jumping and climbing one of the tree trunks, but the fox would swipe and crash into her before she was even a tail-length above the ground.

Scrambling on the dirt, Mountainpaw ran as fast as her paws could take her, stretching them out as far as she could to get the longest stride possible. The fox was relentless, yowling and snarling and snapping its jaws together, and Mountainpaw could feel the energy inside her start to fade. Her legs gave out, losing feeling in them before the fox ran straight into her and knocked Mountainpaw over into a pit of darkness.

_ StarClan… Where is StarClan? _

Mountainpaw felt weak and tired, closing her eyes, falling and falling while there was no sign of the fox following her through the never-ending pit, where all light had vanished. A sweet scent entered the apprentice’s nose, one she had not smelled since after the battle with BrambleClan in her Clan’s camp, but was too tired to move her head to see where it came from. At this point, she didn’t care what it was… StarClan? Another fox? Something worse? It didn’t matter, she just wanted to wake up and be with her littermates again.

“Mountainpaw, help me!”

Her eyes snapped open to the familiar voice of her brother crying out for her. She was on her belly, lying on a stone, her paws heavy and her legs ached. Below the stone she was perched on, her brother Sparrowpaw was lying on his back, squirming his legs like an upturned beetle, writhing like a worm above ground. Around her was more stones, but any farther she could see was faded by an odd mist that surrounded the two.

“Mountainpaw!” He cried again, laughing as he rolled in the dirt like a playful kit. His paws were outstretched, claws unsheathed, as if he was reaching for something just out of reach. Something felt wrong.

Water trickled onto the dirt and toward Sparrowpaw, Mountainpaw tried to call out to him, but nothing came out except air. The water flowed with more strength, digging into the ground like a raging river, and started to drag Sparrowpaw under the water. Mountainpaw shrieked and scrambled to Sparrowpaw’s aid, but her back legs gave out and she was unable to get up from her perch. Sparrowpaw struggled, water splashing around him, and he raised a lone paw high above him as his body sank. If he cried out, Mountainpaw didn’t know, as no sound escaped the white frothing waters. She looked on in terror before she looked at the sky, seeing a large wave engulf her.

She rose from the dream, her fur standing on its end, and looked around worriedly. Her brother was safe, just waking from his own dream, and the rest of her siblings were already awake and discussing with their mentors. She breathed a sigh of relief, but her dream left her nervous and afraid.  _ Or was it a vision? _ The thought sent a strong shiver up her spine, only medicine cats and leaders get visions from StarClan, and she was just a warrior apprentice, not a medicine cat.

Mountainpaw dashed towards Adderjump, who was sitting near the edge of the Great Oak, he looked at her kindly until he saw the worried look on Mountainpaw’s face. “Mountainpaw, what’s wrong?” There was a small hint of worry in his mew.

“We have to back to camp, I think StarClan gave me a vision!” Mountainpaw said, trying to control her fear.

The other cats looked at her, ears perked and eyes wide.

Adderjump looked at her curiously, “A vision?”

“Of what?” Lionpaw joined, giving her sister a comforting nuzzle.

Mountainpaw separated herself, her fur looking unkempt, “There was water! A flood!” The rest of the group started to gather around her, anxiety prickling their pelts. “And a fox! There was a fox in the forest… and blood… it nearly bit the rest of my tail off!”

The word fox made the warriors bristle, but Sparrowpaw blinked, “You mean that thing I said? That a fox might’ve bit your tail off? Or that water? When you slipped and wet your paw on the way here?”

Mountainpaw felt disheartened, was she really just dreaming about what happened today? No vision? What about the water and Sparrowpaw?  _ No, it must really be nothing… _

“I told you that you’d scare the kits!” Bugstripe whispered, which only made Mountainpaw more embarrassed and she flattened her ears. 

Adderjump silenced the warrior with a flick of his tail, “Doesn’t matter. Let’s just get back to camp and make sure that fox really isn’t a threat.”

The tall tom had already started leaving with the rest of the cats behind him, Mountainpaw was in the very back, dragging her paws in shame. She kept her head down, looking at her paws, as the group crossed the fallen pine and back into the territory.

A familiar long tail came into view, swishing side to side in front of Mountainpaw’s whiskers.

“Hey, so, sorry about… You know… The fox thing.” Sparrowpaw mumbled quietly, “Redstone told me we're not allowed to talk about what we saw, but if you want I'll tell you what happened to me! It'll be our secret!”

He purred softly, now shoulder to shoulder with his sister.

Mountainpaw looked back at him in kind, “It's ok, I know you were just teasing.” She shrugged, trying to keep the creeping image of Sparrowpaw drowning out of her mind. “What about what you saw?”

Lionpaw joined the small group, “Is Sparrowpaw telling you about the StarClan cats he saw?” She smirked, “Me and Emberpaw just finished talking about it.”

Mountainpaw glared at her brother as he flattened his ears in embarrassment, “What was that about ‘our secret’?” she hissed under her breath.

“Well I mean,” he thought for a moment, “I  _ meant  _ ‘our secret’ as just you, me, Emberpaw, and Juniperkit’s secret!”

Mountainpaw rolled her eyes, but gave in, “Okay, just tell me then.”

Sparrowpaw's eyes lit up and he raised his tail happily. “Oh, Mountainpaw! It was great!”

He waved his tail back and forth and pranced like a kit who could walk for the first time. “I was in StarClan's hunting grounds and there were so many cats! Their pelts shimmered like stars, just like Goldensky told us! This one she-cat told me our ancestors are watching over us and she wished me luck on becoming a warrior!”

Sparrowpaw purred and Mountainpaw felt envy grow in her heart.  _ Why couldn't StarClan talk to  _ me _? Why did I have that awful nightmare? _ She brushed her feelings and the rest of Sparrowpaw’s words aside like the snow in front of her paws, then she noticed they were taking a different path than before.

The sun was past it's peak and Mountainpaw’s stomach growled, her paws were tired from walking so much and still weak from the dream, today was a lot for the young apprentice and she could only imagine what was to come in the future. Long shadows were cast on the snow and pines by the cats as they continued their pace, then, the stone edge from the camp appeared within eyesight and Mountainpaw’s siblings started to rile up, excited to be home.

“Before we head back to camp,” Adderjump spoke, his tail held high for silence, “This little clearing here is known as the pine hollow, this is where we practice your fighting skills and basic hunting forms.”

Mountainpaw looked around; it was a somewhat large clearing with a whole pine log halfway deep into the ground, covered in moss and various small mushrooms, there were also a few stones peeking out from the ground, but other than that it wasn't so special.

“When we head back into camp, feel free to get a piece of fresh-kill for yourselves, it's been a long day and you all deserve it.” He purred.

“All right!” Sparrowpaw yelled before the rest of his littermates joined in. The apprentices bound toward the mountain and up to the bramble wall, but before Mountainpaw could enter, she was stopped at the end when all other cats had gone in.

“You, my apprentice, are going to talk with Patchstar about your vision, I'll be there with you.”

Mountainpaw’s mentors gaze looked serious, a complete different feeling than before with the other mentors around. She nodded, though, and stepped through the entrance and was home once again.

The sun was near the edge of the horizon, it's light barely touching her Clan’s stones, the camp clearing was teeming with cats and it seemed that a patrol or two had only just arrived before them. Her siblings were talking excitedly with their parents, but neither of them turned to look at Mountainpaw. A large portion of the camp had snow swept off near the very edge, and Frogjump, nor her kits, were seen anywhere.  _ They must have buried them already. Why didn't StarClan let me see them, did they not want me to? _

She sighed and looked for her leader, climbing up to the Elder Log where his den would be.

A cheery voice cried from below her as she laid a paw on the log, “Oh, Mountainpaw!”

She looked down to see Leafwhisker’s yellow eyes gleam at her.

“If you're looking for Patchstar, he left to go on his usual night-hunting. But if you need to give a message I'll give it to him when he returns!”

Mountainpaw blinked, she spotted her mentor climb up to the medicine den, giving her a flick of his tail as a sign to come follow before leaving her view. She looked over to where the fresh-kill pile was, seeing the familiar bodies of her littermates eating some prey with their mentors, and a deep hunger poked at Mountainpaw’s belly. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Inside the medicine cat den, there was still only a faint scent of herbs, and Juniperkit was still in the spot he was in the last time she came to visit. She gave him a quick whiff before hearing Leafwhisker's voice, “Was There something you wanted? The trip turned out ok, it seems? Even without my traveling herbs?”

_ Traveling herbs? What would those even do? _ Mountainpaw wondered before Adderjump spoke up.

“She said StarClan may have given her a vision of the future at the Great Oak.”

Leafwhisker’s tail-tip twitched slightly, “A vision? StarClan hasn't given  _ me  _ any visions, are you sure?”

She looked straight at Mountainpaw, her gaze was intimidating and made Mountainpaw nervous and she looked down at her paws as she spoke.

“Y- yeah, there was a fox that chased me through the territory, and some water, b-but... “ She swallowed. “On the way there, Bugstripe and Adderjump told us about a fox after Sparrowpaw found some old fox tracks, and, um, maybe I just had a dream… About… that…?”  _ I can't tell them about what happened to Sparrowpaw, that'll make me look crazy if it was a dream, or worse, I'll have to be a medicine cat apprentice! _ Leafwhisker let her gaze off Mountainpaw, something felt off about the she-cat today, she made Mountainpaw’s fur prickle ever so slightly.  _ And I wouldn't want  _ her  _ as my mentor! _

The medicine cat looked at Adderjump for confirmation and he only gave a short nod, “I've already told Raintrail about the tracks, he said that tomorrow we'll make sure everything is fine with that and that there's no fox danger.”

She looked back at the apprentice and said nothing for a while, Mountainpaw shuffled her paws anxiously and didn't make eye contact with her.

“Okay,” she finally meowed, “I'm sure it's just a nightmare then, I haven't received any signs of getting an apprentice from StarClan, but we'll have to wait and see about that fox.”

Leafwhisker looked over at Adderjump and whispered something in his ear, he gave her a slight nod before heading out of the den. The medicine cat turned toward Juniperkit, “Your brother is doing fine, I know Sparrowpaw worries, so I thought I'll tell you, too. Either way, little apprentice, go ahead and get some fresh-kill in your belly and rest.”

With a swish of her tail, Leafwhisker left the den and padded towards the camp exit as Mountainpaw watched, her green eyes wide.  _ Is she going out to find Patchstar? _

She looked over to her sleeping brother, his flank rising steadily, and wondered how he  _ really  _ was doing. What was his life like, holed up in the medicine den. She leaned in close and touched her nose to his fur, it wasn't any different than her other siblings, no sign of anything out of the ordinary. “Talk to me, Juniperkit, why are you here, what happened?”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, no response from Juniperkit, and she padded out of the den and towards the fresh-kill pile as her stomach growled. The moon crept over the horizon and more clouds started to gather in the sky, but Mountainpaw paid no mind to this and sat by the stones of the pile, taking a somewhat measly black bird and scarfed it down, more feathers than meat. She spat out the nasty plumes and sighed, the pain in her stomach was still there, although not as profound as earlier.

She looked around, trying to find Ivytangle and ask for her thoughts, but only warriors chittered around, talking about things like the upcoming winter and sharing worries about foxes or invasions, Mountainpaw ignored them.  _ StarClan this doesn't feel right… _ She looked up at the stars, many of them covered by the clouds,  _ What are you trying to say? _

She looked back to the medicine den, seeing a pair of blue eyes looking at her, their gaze piercing through Mountainpaw’s thoughts.  _ Juniperkit? _ She rubbed her eyes with her paws, but when she looked up again, they were gone.

Worried, she decided to hurry and sleep before anything more weird happened again, dashing to the apprentice’s den.  _ There's no way it was… He was sleeping… _ Inside, the rest of her siblings were talking about the dreams they received from the trip, and discussing what they meant in their separate nests.

“ _ I'm  _ going to be leader,” Lionpaw boasted, “One of the old StoneClan leaders said so!”

“Yeah, right!” Sneered Sparrowpaw, throwing a quick swipe at his sister.

“You told me they said you had the  _ qualities _ to be a leader, not  _ the _ leader!” Emberpaw piped up.

“Quiet! You promised you wouldn't tell!”

“No I didn't!”

Lionpaw tackled Emberpaw and they rolled around together, landing on top of Mountainpaw’s empty nest and scattering the moss in their scuffle. She flattened her ears, a growl forming in her throat. Couldn't her siblings just  _ try _ to act considerate towards her and her stuff? Too many nights of her siblings forcibly waking her from kicks in their sleep crossed through her mind.

Sparrowpaw turned towards Mountainpaw, then to the brawling pair, “Hey, knock it off, mouse-brains! Mountainpaw’s here!”

The two cats stopped mid-brawl, embarrassed slightly, Emberpaw was pinned down with Lionpaw’s teeth on her ear and her hind legs under Lionpaw’s belly.

“Sorry…”

Mountainpaw’s ears felt hot, she could see through their embarrassed apology and felt nothing towards them except frustration. If her tail was long enough, it would’ve swished in annoyance, but her knubby tail only looked to wag angrily.

“Whatever.”

She spat bitterly before taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and padded to the far back of the cave, away from her siblings, gathering scraps of her ruined nest and putting them under her belly. Her littermates whispered amongst themselves quietly as Mountainpaw fell into her sleep, shivering slightly from the cold floor.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter, I've gotten 3 jobs AND college to boot, safe to say I'm real busy right now ;^^

Mountainpaw awoke once more to darkness, but this time Mountainpaw bristled-- not out of fear, only out of frustration.

“Enough of these awful dreams!” She hissed and shook her head once a familiar sweet scent came upon her, “You do nothing but make me suffer, and for what reason?!”

She ran away, her eyes cloudy with tears, and under her paws was the feeling of dry earth and cool grass. Through her blurry vision, trees and ferns and bushes came into misty view, and the darkness that surrounded her was replaced by a new sight of nature. New smells came into her nose, confirming her thoughts of being out of StoneClan territory in this dream. There was a faint sound of water running along stones and pebbles, slight splashing disturbing the water.

Mountainpaw rushed to the small creek and saw strange creatures jumping out of the water, their sleek skin seemed to glimmer in the sunlight, mesmerizing the apprentice. She eyed the water carefully, the shore she was on barely had any water trickling through, but she remembered the dangers of the lapping waves, the image of Sparrowpaw drowning came into mind and she shut her eyes in fear. 

Then there was the sound of laughter, Mountainpaw opened her eyes and saw two cats chasing one another across the creek, about the same age as her, giggling and playing with one another. There was a beautiful brown she-cat with sleek fur and white belly play-fighting with a brown and dark-striped tom, she could see them speaking with one another but Mountianpaw was too far to hear any of their words. A comforting breeze moved the reeds by the water, and their sweet scent filled Mountainpaw’s nose. It was the same sweet scent as her previous dreams had.

She reared back in surprise.  _ Reeds? That’s the smell that’s been haunting my dreams…? _ She shook her head as if to answer herself, no, it can’t possibly be these giving off the smell, after all this  _ was  _ a dream. Anxiety pricked her pelt, the light around them started to darken and the two cats were frozen in awkward and unnatural poses while the water in the creek stopped flowing completely. Fear nibbled at her heart, she could feel something terrible approaching behind her, yet she could move neither her head or paws. She could only watch as the cats faded into shadow with glowing eyes full of hate, morphing it's form to a large, snarling fox.

This was enough nonsense, she thought to herself, enough of all these nightmares and these forsaken foxes. Mounatinpaw hissed and stood her ground, not that it mattered much due to her paws seemingly being glued to the ground. The fox said nothing, made no noise, as it tensed its haunches, eyes locked on Mountainpaw. She bristled, baring her teeth.

“I’ve had just enough of you, fox!”

The fox snorted before breaking into a charge; it opened its mouth, showing off long, white teeth with saliva dripping from its maw. Before it touched Mountainpaw’s pelt, a large and unforeseen wave reached her first, knocking both of them off their paws and into the unknown.

She woke up, startled, and was safely nestled around her siblings, protected from the chilling wind coming from outside. She blinked, listening to Lionpaw snore quietly and the softer breathing of Sparrowpaw and Emberpaw. She felt a warm sense of relief and comfort with them and craned her neck slightly to view the outside without disturbing her littermates’ sleep.

Cold wind blew in furiously as snow began to pile near the entrance and spilled deeper into the cave, thankfully the apprentices were far enough away that none of them had any traces of snow on their pelts.

For a moment, she swore she saw larger piles of disturbed snow fall just outside the the den, but she shook her head, casting the thought aside, and went back into a dreamless sleep.

 

Mountainpaw awoke to the sound of paws on snow, opening her eyes to see herself alone once again with her siblings at the den entrance chattering with one another.

“You'd think our mentors would be the one digging us out, huh?”

“They're probably digging their way out of their own den right now, mouse-brain!”

“If I have to move one more pawful of snow, my paws are gonna freeze off!”

Mountainpaw rushed over to the others, snow was seeping into the den as they dug near the bottom and the cold feeling of it on her paws made her shiver.

“Oh, Mountainpaw! Come help, my paws ache!”  Emberpaw mewed, lifting up her paw as if it was injured.

“Give her a break, she just woke up!” Scolded Lionpaw.

Mountainpaw gave her sister a gentle nuzzle, “Thanks, but I’d rather be outside this stuffy den than relax.” She purred.

The four of them continued digging, tossing snow aside and behind them and the cold snow, in return, dug into Mountainpaw’s paws. She hissed quietly, only stopping occasionally to rest her freezing paws, until light broke through into the den.

“Light!” Sparrowpaw squealed.

“No, wait!-”

Before Lionpaw could catch their brother, Sparrowpaw was already trying to squeeze through the hole, scrambling and sending snow flying at the rest of the apprentices. They ducked their heads to avoid the snow, but Emberpaw was hit square in the face with a large pile and fell over. She reared up again, bristling, but before she could swipe at her brother, Sparrowpaw had broken through and made it outside.

The rest of the apprentices looked at one another, slightly curious, and the dark head of Bugstripe poked out.

“Let’s go, kits, we’re going hunting!”

_ Hunting! _

The apprentices scrambled and squirmed over one another, trying desperately to get through the gap, but of course Lionpaw was the first one to escape after stepping over Emberpaw.

“Ow! My head!” Emberpaw hissed.

“Not my fault your head was under my paws!” Teased Lionpaw, whisking her tail in front of Emberpaw’s nose before passing onto the surface.

Mountainpaw almost took a pawstep forward before her sibling hissed, baring her teeth, and rushed through the gap and outside.

She sighed alone, taking her time exiting the den; hearing the snow crunch under her paws, feeling it shift.

Outside, multiple cats were moving the snow over the cliff, others were digging out snow from the dens.

Mountainpaw looked over to where the nursery would've been and she thanked StarClan for its vacancy, she couldn't imagine being stuck in a cramped den with all her siblings! The snow had reached over a cat-length in height during the night, she assumed, and any steps she took made her paws sink through the snow like a pebble in water. She saw her siblings with their mentors, telling them something she couldn't catch, but there was no sign of her mentor's distinctive red fur anywhere.

Mountainpaw felt anxiety prickle her pelt, unsure what her mentor was doing or thinking. Was she late? She had heard some of the older mentors would leave their apprentices in camp if they failed to come when called or overslept. Did that happen?

A soft purr behind the apprentice made her jump, turning around to face Ivytangle. She seemed tired and her pelt half-groomed, but her eyes showed only kindness towards Mountainpaw.

“It's only your second day as an apprentice, Mountainpaw, dont worry.” 

She pointed her nose towards the Elderlog, “Adderjump’s a part of Patchstar’s close counsel, so he's often talking with him.”

Mountainpaw looked over to the high log earnestly and fruitlessly, then over to her siblings who were playing in the deep snow as their mentors laughed. 

Ivytangle gave her head a quick lick, “Have patience, one day you'll be leaning on your clanmates for advice, too.”

Mountainpaw glanced towards the elder, unsure what to say, and bounded over to her siblings after dipping her head towards Ivytangle.

Sparrowpaw and Emberpaw were trying to pin down their sister, but to no avail as Lionpaw would slip through them like a fish in the river until she tripped over Emberpaw, leaving her wide open to attack.

“Good thing we're focusing on hunting today instead of battle training, right Redstone?” Mrowed Oakclaw, turning her face over to Redstone. 

He purred. “No apprentice of mine would be foolish enough to trip over their enemies.”

Lionpaw lowered her head as the rest of the cats laughed, whisking her tail around herself.

“When are we going hunting?” Piped Mountainpaw, wanting to change the subject quickly.

Lionpaw gave her a thankful glace, blue eyes wide with relief. Redstone’s whiskers twitched as he looked toward the two, Mountainpaw felt her pelt bristle.

“Easy now, kits,” Meowed Bugstripe. “When Adderjump comes back, we'll leave.”

“Oh, Adderjump won't be coming any time soon.”

The cats looked over to Redstone, who had spoken up, curious.

“My father is in the middle of speaking to him and a few other senior warriors for advice, it's why Raintrail hasn't been seen since making the patrols and assigning snow clearing duties.”

He looked directly toward Mountainpaw, then back at the rest of the cats. “We should get going before it starts getting late, I'm sure Adderjump will be out soon, but in the meantime feel free to help out the rest of your clanmates.”

The two other mentors looked at one another then beckoned their apprentices to come along towards the camp entrance.

Mountainpaw looked on helplessly as Sparrowpaw and Emberpaw fought against the snow on their mentor's heels. Lionpaw looked back at her, her gaze full of sympathy, “I'll fetch you something nice, I promise.” And she turned away, rejoining the rest of their siblings and mentors.

Mountainpaw looked at her paws angrily.  _ “Fetch me something nice?”  _ I  _ should be with them, fetching prey. _

She batted the snow away, splashing a flurry of white snow on an incoming warrior.

“Hey!”

Bellowingstag hissed, shaking off the snow from his brown pelt.

Though he was a smaller tom, Mountainpaw stood under his shadow.

“...Sorry, Bellowingstag…”

The tom snorted, “Adderjump’ll knock that kinda disrespect out of you. It's as if you've been raised by foxes!”

He whisked his short tail around, swiping Mountainpaws whiskers, and joined a few cats that were digging out the lower dens.

She hissed, it was enough already to be pestered by dreams and her kin, she doesn't know how long she'll stand now with her  _ clanmates  _ on her nerves.

_ StarClan give me patience _ .

She looked over to Fallingbird, Sunpelt, and Goldensky; they were close to the cliff edge, tossing snow over to the ground far below, and Mountainpaw collected and nudged snow just like they were doing.

_ I don't need my mentor or anyone else, I can do this on my own! _

She balled the snow under her paws and hurriedly tossed it over the cliff, now getting a clear sight of the territory; The sun peered slightly through dark grey clouds, its fleeting rays seeming to be snuffed out at any moment, and a white sheet covered as far as the apprentice could see. The breeze rising from below felt as if it was tugging her forward, dangerously close to the edge. As Mountainpaw looked over to the rocks, she could see the body of Sparrowpaw, much like in her dream, sprayed over rock and snow, soon to be buried by Mountainpaw.

She drew her ears back in fear, bristling, pelt brushing the wall of snow behind her.

Sunpelt called over to the apprentice, “Hey, everything ok over there?”

“Leave her alone.”

Goldensky whispered, a growl deep in her throat. “She's not a kit anymore.”

Fallingbird only looked on as Sunpelt snapped back at the she-cat.

“Quiet! You don't have to be so hard on her, you're her mother for StarClans sake!”

Mountainpaw drew her ears back, her nightmares are getting to her in the real world, not like any of her clanmates would understand. They treat her like some hapless kit, just like her mother.

She gritted her teeth, remembering Frogjumps words to be with her clanmates more.  _ But what's the point if they're just going to treat me as if I'm some newborn, or just leave me behind. _

She shook her head.

_ I'm not some powerless kit. I can do things by myself. _

Mountainpaw narrowed her eyes, looking at a pile of snow as if it was prey. She lowered herself close to the ground, fur brushing the stone, and pounced on the snow awkwardly, spraying more snow as she rolled around.

The cats around her jumped back, saving themselves from her wrath.

She hissed to herself, cooling down from her tantrum. Giving her chest fur a few licks, continuing her silent work, ignoring the glares and glances from her clanmates.

The sky darkened, but with the clouds covering most of the sky, it was hard to tell whether it was later than it should be. The snow in the camp had been mostly dispersed to other places, save for some snow between rocks and on the bramble walls. During that time, Mountainpaw would cast longing looks over to the Elderlog, yet nothing would come out of it. Not a single whisker would be seen.

The warriors were moving their nests to the higher caves, incase more snow would fall, and slowly one patrol would come and go after another, slowly filling the fresh-kill pile with thin prey.

“Hey, are you busy?”

Pinestep drew in close, giving his daughter a gentle nuzzle.

Mountainpaw said nothing, looking at her paws.

“You did a good job helping us, sorry you weren't able to go with your siblings out with their mentors. And sorry about… Goldensky…” 

His voice trailed off as Mountainpaw looked towards him. He mentioned nothing about her attack on the snow.

“Shes not usually like that with her kits, your siblings… But it's ok,” He smiled. “I'll be there for you when you need me to be.”

Mountainpaw purred softly, relief now easing her tense body. She needed the reassurance, more than she would admit.

Then, out from the camp entrance, burst out the apprentice hunting party, everycat with a piece of fresh-kill in their jaws. Thankfully they did, since Sparrowpaw was more than excited the second he entered the camp, no doubt ready to boast to the whole Clan about his catch.

Pinestep gave Mountainpaw a last nuzzle before rejoining the rest of his kits, leaving Mountainpaw alone once more. She tried to leave and avoid Lionpaw and the rest of her siblings, stating she's going to be moving her nest to one of the higher dens, only to realize that she  _ has _ no nest, that her siblings tore up the one she used the night before.

Before she could leave to gather more moss, Lionpaw was already beside her with a scrawny squirrel.

“Look what I got you! Redstone said it was ok to give this to you, so we should share!”

Lionpaw purred, her light fur was messy and she looked tired, yet Lionpaw still grinned through it all so easily.

“Oh, well…” Mountainpaw muttered. “I already ate something from one of the previous patrols, since Adderjump is still busy, I guess.”

Lionpaws ears drooped slightly and Mountainpaw felt guilt grip her heart. She had lied about the prey, but still felt sorry for her sister. She'll make it up to her later, but not now.

“Sorry…” Mountainpaw mewed before hurriedly padding away, leaving her sister behind without looking back.

She stopped at the foot of a small pine tree near the dirtplace, watching the dark clouds cover the sky completely, snow steadily falling once more.

A quiet rustle disturbed the silence, Mountainpaw turned to see Leafwhisker enter camp from the dirtplace, giving her face a quick wash before spotting the apprentice.

“Oh, Mountainpaw!”

The apprentice turned over, shaking some fresh snow off her pelt, looking up at the medicine cat.

“Good seeing you,” Leafwhisker purred. “Any new  _ signs _ from StarClan?”

Mountainpaw’s ear twitched, she knew Leafwhisker meant that last part as a joke, yet she could feel there was something more to her words.

“No.” Mountainpaw said, putting her head on her paws.

“Nothing except more snow, then?” The medicine cat purred. “Why don't you come with me to my den, I can use a little bit of help in there, if you want.”

Mountainpaw shook her head, “Thanks, but what if my mentor comes back and wants to get a late training session in?”

Leafwhisker nodded, “Fair enough, but I'll still be needing help, sooner or later.”

The medicine cat dipped her head before returning to her den, hesitating slightly before entering.

As the world grew darker and colder around her, Mountainpaw grabbed what few moss and other things she could get her teeth into for her nest, carrying it towards the apprentices den to find it empty, besides the remaining moss scraps from the morning. Her siblings must've already moved to a higher den, something Mountainpaw should start looking into, but she settled on moving after getting a late night meal.

She lied awake, staring outside as the snow dropped slowly on the stones, much unlike the storm from the previous night. Her bedding was comfortable, to say the least, stiff moss and pecking needles bothered her flank, making it much harder to sleep comfortably.

Adjusting herself once again, Mountainpaw figured it was time to move out and get some prey before a snowstorm froze any leftovers. The snow hadn't piled up very high yet, but nonetheless stepping into the cold made Mountainpaw shiver and her paws felt numb. She hurried over to the stone where the fresh-kill was placed, only to find it covered in snow and empty of any prey. She sniffed around the stone, checking the plants surrounding its far edge, her stomach growling as loud as her growing worry.

She drew her head back, spotting something neatly tucked in a small bush; it was a frozen, half-eaten squirrel.

Mountainpaw felt her chest tighten, but before she could dig out the prey, the bramble entrance rustled.

_ Another attack? _

Mountainpaw hurriedly hid by the shrubbery, putting snow over her exposed pelt to help hide herself, causing her to gasp from the cold.

Two figures entered the camp, speaking to one another.

“...My apologies for separating you from your apprentice.”

“It's no bother, Patchstar.”

_ “Patchstar”?  _ She thought.  _ Isn't he supposed to be in the Elderlog with his counsel…? But… I never  _ did _ see anyone leave from there. _

She flattened her ears.

_ Was Redstone…? No… _

She shook her head, trying to focus on the conversation.

“But I must insist, you  _ must _ not train your apprentice. Leafwhisker told me she was given a sign from StarClan that Mountainpaw would become her apprentice.”

_ That I would  _ what _?! _

Mountainpaw flattened her ears, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, trying her best not to draw her lips back and hiss.

“Why not, then, make her the new medicine cat apprentice in a meeting?”

“Well, that's where my apology comes in, since Leadwhisker told me herself that Mountainpaw has to  _ choose _ to leave her warrior apprenticeship.”

_ That fox-heart! That mangy flea-pelt! _

Mountainpaw could barely control her anger.

_ How  _ dare  _ she try to turn me into a medicine cat by cornering me like some, some  _ mouse _! _

She could no longer feel the cold numbing her, instead she felt a burning anger spreading within her. Too focused on her feelings, Mountainpaw was unable to catch the few words Adderjump and Patchstar said before leaving to their respective dens. Mountainpaw sank her claws into what little dirt there was, deep in her riled thoughts until she saw Patchstar leave the Elderlog once Adderjump was out of sight, bringing her out into reality again.

Her tall and slender leader carefully stepped down the stones, making sure not to knock over any snow, ears carefully listening to any disturbances before slipping out of camp like a snake in the grass. Mountainpaw looked over to where her clanmates slept, seeing the yellow eyes of the medicine cat gleaming in the night, just outside her den.

She did nothing, except watch the entrance of camp, before slowly returning back into the medicine cat den after what seemed to be an eternity.

Mountainpaw grumbled under her breath, grabbing the now-frozen squirrel and dragging herself back to her nest, uncaring of any snowstorms that may come in the night. Gnawing on the squirrel, she thought deeply on what to do next, going over all she had heard, even if it still seem unbelievable to her.

“If Leafwhisker wants me to become a medicine cat apprentice, so be it.” She whispered. “She won't stop me from warrior training either… If I'm awful as an apprentice, maybe she'll let me go back under Adderjump’s mentorship.”

She bit through the bones of the squirrel, eating what little meat was left, doing what she could in this situation where both her nest and food were cold, with no help from the falling snow and blowing wind outside.

She nestled deeper in her pitiful nest, curling up tight to help keep herself warm, finishing what was edible of her prey. Next time she'll have to eat it as soon as she can, frozen fresh-kill is more hassle than what it's worth. For tomorrow, of course, she thought, slipping into sleep.


End file.
